Lost
by Cookie Seller On The Dark Side
Summary: Marlene shook her head and sighed. "You've lost him." Lily watched in confusion as he walked over to the other girl, before whispering: "I never knew I had him." James/Lily. R & R
1. He has a WHAT?

**_All I knew this morning when I woke_**  
**_ Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before._**  
**_ And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago_**  
**_ Is green eyes and freckles in your smile_**  
**_ In the back of my mind making me feel right_**

**_ I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now_**  
**_ I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now_**

**-everything has changed, by Taylor Swift.**

On the 31st of August, a girl with fiery red hair and emerald green eyes looked out of the window of her second story room. The sky was still a beautiful blue, the grass a healthy green, the daisies still blossomed and bloomed, but something was different.

Not physically, but mentally.

Lily Evans, proud studious attendant of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had discovered something over the summer before sixth year.

She liked Potter.

Potter, that insufferable, annoying, irritating, aggravating, irking, frustrating, infuriating, egotistical, proud, stubborn, prank-obsessed boy with the I'm holier-then-thou attitude who had angered her to no end last year.

But why had she allowed it?

She had simply ignored the less drastic bits, and laughed now and then.

If she really hated Potter, he'd be long gone.

Many countries away.

Or planets.

Or- well, he'd be far away if she'd really hated him. Or maybe not, he had always bugged her with his insistent proclaims of "I love you!".

Or maybe that was simply a joke.

Ugh, poor Lily was doomed.

Could she tell him?

_Would _she tell him?

No. She would wait until he gave his annual- scratch that, _daily_- declaration of "Will you go out with me?".

Simple.

Or something could go terribly wrong, on the not-so-optimistic side.

On the more likely side, so to say.

* * *

**_Dear Marlene,_**

**_You remember how James Potter always irritated me at school with his announcements of devotion. _**

**_I know you do! It was impossible to forget!  
_**

**_Well, I think I've decided to give in, and give him a chance. 'Cos, (don't tell him, he really doesn't need another ego inflate!) I think I like him too._**

**_Really, that's all I was going to write, but owls these days are expensive!_**

**_Do you think he was joking all the times he asked me out, I mean, he might only be fooling around?_**

**_He does that a lot._**

**_Fooling yes, but he always makes me confused._**

**_Always!_**

**_I'm scared that agreeing to go out with him will only give him a reason to laugh (not that he needs a reason!).  
_**

**_Any advice for me, Marlene?_**

**_I hope to Merlin that you do!_**

**_(Also, Toony has been annoying me SOO much! Save me, please!)_**

**_Write back soon-_**

**Lily.**

Lily absolutely hated Owling prices, and the small irked frown on her face showed it.

She patted the owl from inside her room, glad it had flown around the neighborhood, and somewhat pleased it hadn't hooted for money yet. Also hoping that he would find the correct place, she said aloud, making clear pronunciation and sharp clarity: "Polydon Street, the house with the pink door."

She was prepared to seal her envelope, and give it to the bird in the hopes it didn't expect payment, but things did not go the way she planned.

_"Hoot hoot!"_

"Ouch!" She cried, dropping the two galleons she'd been holding -just in case- down towards the grass below her. The blooming owl had bit her! HARD!

She added grumpily a warning at the bottom of the letter: **_Careful, the bird's crazy!_**

When she looked up, she blanched; a little white cat with curious big blue eyes was inspecting the dropped coins, he swiped at one, causing it to get increasingly closer to the gutter.

"Tulip, no!" She shrieked.

It was too late, the playful cat had gleefully pushed one of her coins down the gutter.

"At least I still have one galleon left." She sighed. "You silly cat!" She called down.

The cat looked up, hissed, picked up her last galleon in his mouth, and trotted off towards the nearby large clutter of bushes, before reappearing again. Without her money.

"Ugh." Moaned Lily, glaring after the cat. It had never seemed to like her anyways.

Unhappily, Lily grudgingly began letting her hands and fingers run amuck in her purse, desperately searching for another two galleons.

So to say, the owl was unimpressed.

"Oh bugger off would you," Lily grumbled, before remembering what her last animal-related insult resulted in, she apologized immediately. "Sorry."

But the owl seemed to be getting more and more impatient, and bit her finger again, this time drawing blood.

"Yeek!" She groaned in pain. "Screw you, owl."

She began sucking the finger he'd bitten, which, unfortunately just happened to be her thumb.

"Why me?" She complained, sucking harder on her red thumb.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" OK, it didn't sound _exactly_ like that, well more like this: "_Mwah ha ha ha!_".

Evil, I know.

Lily looked up in frustration to see her elder sister, Petunia, watching her in cruel amusement. "Aw, is duh ickle baby hurt? Do I need to call Mummy Wummy?"

"Sweetness doesn't suit you, Toony." Lily said, removing her thumb from her mouth in embarrassment. "You should go back to bitter and jealous."

"_JEALOUS_?" Shrieked Petunia.

"Yes, ashamed I've figured out why you're so angry now a days." Lily smirked a very James-like smirk. _Oh, good Lord, he's rubbing off on me!_

"You little..." Petunia hissed furiously.

"-Miracle, wonder, epitome of brilliance?" Said Lily, smiling. "I know, I know. No need to remind me, right?"

"Ugh!" Petunia let a small squeaking noise of pure ire out.

Lily felt a little bad, although she hadn't meant to upset her sister. "I'm-" Her apology was cut of by Petunia's ranting.

"Stupid, annoying, bratty, spoiled, the epitome of a goody goody and a betrayer." Said Petunia smugly.

Lily felt complete rage building up inside of her. "And when," she growled. "Have I ever betrayed anyone?"

Petunia's eyes lost some of their mirth from teasing her. "You betrayed me for that greasy haired Snape boy." She said quietly.

"Oh Toony..."

"But you betrayed him, too! He's been trying to talk to you all summer, but you just ignore him! He's given up now, though, the smart freak!"

"Oh my God! Just leave him out of-" But Petunia left the room, a satisfied, pompous smile on her ugly face for winding up Lily.

"Oh, Merlin." Murmured Lily unhappily. She started attaching the letter the nipping owl, but she didn't notice since Toony hadn't closed the door, Tulip the thief of a cat had sneaked in.

She had just finished doing the straps to hold the letter up, when Tulip leaped onto the window sill and began swiping at the owl as he had at her money earlier.

"Tulip, no!" She yelled, feeling that vexing feeling of déjà vu.

The owl she had cursed earlier now had her full sympathy as he screeched at the unpleasant surprise, and he made an impromptu take off, and flew away.

Leaving Lily, an evil cat, a face full of snowy white feathers and a nagging worry.

_Is one boy worth so much_?

No. Right?

* * *

"TWEET! TWEET!" Was a bird being tortured, or something? Wondered Lily, getting up from her awkward position and placing down _Cinderella: a witches version_. She saw the snowy white owl who'd bitten her had returned, with a letter and a parcel.

"Oh goody, I need something to cheer me up." She grinned.

**_Dear Lily,  
_**

**_O.M.G I knew you had to fall for him someday!_**

**_I can see the ickle babies with his black hair and devilishly good-looking face, but with your pretty eyes._**

**_The one thing I hate is that your names mix into: Lames. James plus Lily: Lames._**

**_Like, wah?  
_**

**_But it's better then you and Snape, that would make Silly. No, really! Severus (ew) plus Lily equals: Silly._**

**_Double x wah?_**

**_Wait!_**

**_Spot of inspiration: Jily._**

**_You heard me. Jily._**

**_Oh. My. Good. God. Leverus, Snape and Lily is Leverus. (That rhymes with the Irish word for toilet, Leithreas! It's a sign! You and Snape's relationship equals a toilet!)_**

**_My advice: stay calm, and wait for him to ask you out like he always does, then say "I'll think about it", that 'll shock him!_**

**_Knock 'im dead girl,_**

**_Marlene._**

**_PS. Your bird gave me a ticket for a free band-aid._**

Lily smiled, and folded the letter into the envelope, and then she opened the small red box with a darker red pretty ribbon that came with it.

There was a beautiful, heart-shaped silver locket wrapped white tissue.

Wait, it gets better, thought Lily, grinning. It opens!

Inside was a magical picture of Lily smiling at the camera, and then like a muggle video recorder, James pops up and gives the peace sign behind her, causing the picture Lily to race after him, a smouldering glare on her face.

In fancy italics, there read: _Lames, not Silly, Forever_.

Marlene, you doof. Thought Lily fondly. You make it sound like we're gonna get married some time soon!

* * *

_**Dear Marlene,**_

_**I find your sense of humor not very flattering. Who says I'm gonna marry Potter? It's probably just a school girl crush.**_

_**I love the locket, albeit the text is unnecessary. (Bleuch, "Silly"?)**_

_**I'm sorry, the bird bit me too. Rotten thing, though I'm rather pleased it found you. Tulip, a spoiled cat who lives with me, attacked it. So it must be a very determined bird to bother to go find you. That, or rather noble, since I payed so much to send it!**_

_**How would you like to go to Diagon alley with me, and maybe you could invite Debbie, since I don't know her address. I mean, I haven't talked to Debbie for a while so please excuse me for being so impolite. I've found her amazing ever since she stood up for us in front of McGonnagal because Potter and his lot framed us for his dung-bomb prank.**_

_**Back to the subject of Diagon alley, maybe this Saturday? **_

_**Answer soon-**_

_Lily_.

* * *

**Lily,**

**See you there! Called Dee. Florean Fortescue's, 2:30.  
- Marlene.  
**

* * *

Lily beamed, opened her door and called out: "Mom! I'm going out this Saturday!"

* * *

She was still beaming five days later adjusting her purple robes, ignoring every one of Petunia Evans' taunts.

"Bet they won't show up, cos, like seriously, who'd want to go anywhere with you and-"

"Hush up, Toony." Said Lily dismissively. "I'm going now, so have some manners, say goodbye and wish me luck on my travels and a safe journey."

"Ditto, I'm seeing Vernon today."

"The pig of a man? Ew." Lily was not exaggerating, Vernon Dursley was a grotesque boy, a year older then Toony herself.

"You hush up now, Lily. Vernon's perfectly nice, and just since no boy's ever liked you and that it's unlikely one ever will, doesn't mean you must be jealous."

Lily blinked. "Thanks." She muttered, a bit sadly. It had nearly brought to life her fears about James.

Petunia opened her mouth, and her eyes earned a guilty glint, but no words left her gawping mouth. Lily got up, muttering something about a cap, while Petunia stared at the spot Lily had just left. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, and left abruptly up to her room to prepare for her and Vernon's date.

* * *

After two hours on a train to London, Lily felt a little drowsy.

"Do need any help, Miss?" Asked a lady walking by with a dog on a lead, it seemed she had noticed Lily's troubled face. "Are you lost?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you." Said Lily. She sighed, it was a pity that the nice woman was a muggle.

"Alright then, dear" She leaned forwards. "The leaky cauldron is that-a-way." She whispered in Lily's ear, pointing forward, then she disappeared.

Lily smiled a little. The dog lead dropped onto the ground, unoccupied.

Theatrical exit, for disapparating.

Giggling, Lily shouldered her bag and departed in the direction the lady had pointed in. Straight up.

She walked, scratch that, shoved her way through crowds of people until she reached the Leaky cauldron.

She stared at the wall next to it. That was the entrance, but how do you open it again?

Ah yes, tap the right brick.

So Lily began tapping random orange bricks with her wand in the hope she'd be fortunate and pick the right one, and soon. She didn't see the shadow behidn her.

1st one, 2nd one, 3rd one... 20th one, 21st one, 23nd one, 23rd one... 55th one... (Her hand had begun to hurt by now.)

"Fifty five times, well, go on, hit the next innocent brick." Said a deep voice most girls Lily knew thought of as attractive. She personally thought it chafe. "Brick abuser."

Sighing, she turned around. A handsome, black hair, dark grey eyed, and vilely grinning boy glanced at her in his exasperating way that made most girls faint. "OK, Black, why don't you do the honors?"

Sirius Black smirked. "But of course, my dear lady. If it really is that difficult..." He smacked the fifty sixth brick, the next one Lily was going to hit. The twit.

Such a face-palm moment, Lily, such a face palm moment.

Lily scowled as Black lazily stepped back as the wall began to open like a door.

"Ta da." He said, walking through with a smug look on his face.

"Ugh." Complained Lily, following him, but purposely walking five steps behind him, giving off the look of 'I don't know him!'.

As usual, Lily found herself gazing up in awe at all the amazing buildings. There was; the museum of stake deaths, a hideously painted red house with recorded screams coming from inside; The coffee shack, with it's welcoming beige walls, toffee colored doors and pretty sign with a witches cap and a cup of tea; Zonkos, easily recognized with it's gigantic sign, bright blue walls, and window full of treats and tricks; Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour with it's beautiful friendly light yellow coloring and outdoor seating; Flourish & Blotts; Gringotts Wizarding Bank; Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions; The Magical Menagerie; Ollivanders; Potage's Cauldron Shop; Quality Quidditch Supplies; Slug and Jiggers Apothecary; and Gambol and Japes joke store.

Lily loved the place.

So, with a look of simple delight, she readjusted her shoulder bag and took out her map.

"This way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour." She said under her breath, taking a sharp right. Then another right, and forward, then left and... "Where next?"

She looked up, if only to see the ice-cream parlour standing proud and mighty above her. "Oh."

Pleased, Lily made her way slowly but surely to the top of the queue, where she greeted Mr. Florean. "Hello, could I get a ice-cream float?"

"But of course," said he, smiling. "With or without sauce?" She nodded a 'with'. He waved his wand and gave her the complete float.

Lily thanked him and joyously took the bowl, and laughed as the vanilla ice-cream began to float in mid-air.

Muggles had no idea what they were missing with their ice cream floats.

She accidentally bumped lightly into the next person in the line, and opened her mouth to say sorry, when she saw who it was. "Debbie! Hi!"

Debbie Lovegood, sister of Xenophilius Lovegood, nodded at her, smiling. "Exploding toffee, please, two scoops." She told Mr. Florean.

"Looks nice," commented Lily as they walked back to the table.

"It is." Agreed Debbie. "Wanna try some?"

Lily nodded, and Debbie dumped some exploding toffee onto her near empty bowl.

"Thanks!" She said, taking a spoonful.

And then, for some reason, Debbie started to count. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six," Merlin, was it just her, or was the ice-cream expanding in her mouth? "Five, four, three," eek! "TWO, ONE!"

Lily made a large squeaking noise as the small piece of "_exploding toffee ice cream_", well, _exploded_ in her mouth. She felt the heat go to her face.

Debbie laughed. "Don't worry, it happens to everyone who eats it. It has the enlarging hex on it. Look," she gestured at all the other red faced people giggling and chortling around the cafe.

Lily leaned over across the table. "Debbie, I've got some news."

"What?" Debbie asked excitedly.

"I think... I think I like James Potter back, now."

Debbie's eyes went wide, and then she squealed. "Really, oh this is great! Lames forever!"

Lily rolled her eyes, but there was a tint of glee in them. "Marlene told you that, right?"

Debbie opened her mouth to answer- probably with a giggle and a yes- when someone plopped down into the seat next to them.

It was Marlene. She was slumped into the chair and her own face wasn't very red, so she mustn't have eaten much of the exploding toffee ice cream in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Asked Debbie in concern.

Marlene sighed. "You know how you said you might agree to go out with James?" Cue Debbie's beam. "Well, I'm afraid it ain't happening today, or any time soon."

Lily nearly let her face fall. "Why not?"

Marlene gave her a small look of pity. "'Cause I heard it from Dorcas, who heard it from Debbie's brother, who heard it from Molly Weasley, who saw it."

"Er.. I'll probably regret this, but what is 'it'?" Said Debbie.

"Molly saw James and this git-girl called Malorie kissing, and apparently, James Potter now has a girlfriend."

Debbie paled, but all Lily could feel was her jaw falling to the floor.

"Good Merlin."

**A/N: Let it be known that I have not copied the letter idea, I simply needed the friends to make contact, and since witches don't have phones, I had to get them to owl each-other.  
**

**Thank you for reading :D. I love if I could get some reviews... faster updates, eh?**


	2. I figured out that you don't love me

**A/N: I said Molly WEASLEY in previous chapter because she married rather early in life, and is engaged by now.**

**This is another summary for this story, it's a quote I quite like: ****Someday your prince charming will come. Mine? Oh, he just took a wrong turn, got lost, and is too stubborn to ask for directions.**

**_I know_**  
**_One day eventually_**  
**_Yeah, I know_**  
**_One day I'll have to let it all go_**  
**_But I keep it just in case_**  
**_Yeah, I keep it just in case_**

**_In case_**  
**_You don't find what you're looking for_**  
**_In case_**  
**_You're missing what you had before_**  
**_In case_**  
**_You change your mind, I'll be waiting here_**  
**_In case_**

**_You're looking in that mirror one day  
And miss my arms  
How they wrapped around your waist  
I say that you can love me again  
Even if it isn't the case_**

_**Ohhh**_  
_**You don't find what you're looking for**_  
_**Ohhh**_  
_**You're missing my love**_  
_**You don't find what you're looking for**_  
_**In case**_  
_**You're missing what you had before**_  
_**In case**_  
_**You change your mind, I'll be waiting here**_

**_-Demi Lovato, in case._**

It had been two days since the Diagon Alley a good day gone wrong trip, as she know called it, had happened, and tomorrow she would be back in her second home. In Hogwarts.

Lily Evans quite liked hot chocolate, so if you asked her what she'd be doing if she found out the boy she liked was going out with some blonde ditz, she'd say drowning her disappointment in hot chocolate.

And now, if you think that's a bit childish, she would answer: "But of course, there would be marshmallows".

So, now you have your explanation for why Lily Evans was in the kitchen at half ten, with one hand reaching for a mug from the china cabinet, and the other fastened tightly on to a can of Cadburys' drinkable chocolate, while looking hungrily at the packet of mini marshmallows that she had left on the counter, spilling the little things of delight.

Unable to reach the spotty green mug that she wanted, (Of course she wasn't going to settle for a plain white one, _duh_!) Lily sighed. You'd have thought she'd have the sense to just take another mug, but she walked into the hallway.

It was a lovely little hall, cosy brown walls, dark red carpeting, a pretty chandelier with red diamonds hanging from it, and family photos and portraits clinging on every wall. All the doors were a darker-then-the-walls brown, with old fashioned knobs. One door, the third one from the kitchen, on the right, just before the stairs, looked a little older then the rest, and so it was. It lead down to the basement.

So Lily took that door, and flung it open.

"Hush up down there!" Shrieked Petunia, poking her head out from a door upstairs. Lily could just make out her sister, and she had a head full of multicolored curlers. "I am _trying_ to get my beauty sleep!" She screeched, her voice at such a high pitch and so loud, Lily was surprised her parents hadn't woken up. But soft snoring came from upstairs, and Lily gave out a relieved sigh.

"Well, you _do_ need it..." She said, quieter then Petunia but loudly enough. She pretended to think about it.

"Ugh!" Groaned Petunia, slamming her door shut with a bang. But no sound came from her parents room, even then.

So, relaxing, Lily looked at the door she had recently opened, and stared at the long way down to the basement.

_Ah, the things I will do for hot chocolate..._

She flicked on the ceiling lights' switch, and scowled when only three of the nine lights buzzed on. In fact, the stairs only looked darker and creepier.

_Come on, Lily. Woman up! You are not afraid of ghosts, heck, you go to school with more then a hundred of them! _

Taking a deep breath, she began to descend into the ever-delving darkness that befell delving darkness, getting a bit dramatic, eh, Lily?

It was so dark, and only the first, third and fifth lights were working. Soon she was on the eleventh stair, and all light was lost behind her. It seemed nothing could get much worse, when a noisy, very audible clatter was heard.

**BOOM!**

There was about five things that possibly could have happened;

A: Elderly Jenny Bloper had thrown another brick against their back garden wall. Mad old coot.

B: Petunia had dropped her make-up set. Again. _I swear, that thing weighs a tonne._

C: Mum shoved dad out of bed in her sleep. It was a regular occurance in the Evans household.

D: The local animal shelter, which just happened to be across the road, had been tricked to set all the animals out of their cages again-

Wait, on the subject of animals...

Probability E: Petunia let Tulip out of room knowing about the crazy cat's habit on closing doors.

Yes, Tulip knew how to close doors. He'd learned as a kitten. All he did was go up upon his hind legs, paws in the air, and slam shut the door.

Smart, evil cat.

But Lily was thankful he couldn't turn off lights, too, because the light switch was beside the door, the hallway half.

Thank Merlin for small mercies.

So, Lily, though displeased about the closed door, continued to submerge lower and lower into her basement, under the reassuring knowledge that the door couldn't possibly be locked, since cat's just don't lock doors.

By the time she had reached the last step, she had counted at _least_ ninety three steep steps. Lily let her eyes scan the dimly lit room. It was huge, boxes filled edges and old portraits that had started going brown lay in messy heaps. A dirt, overly heavy ironing board was leaning on an old cupboard.

There was a small blue stool laying abandoned in the left-hand corner, on top of it sat some crumpled up duvets along with a single pillow, missing its case, which her mother had left askew in hopes of bringing them the the laundrette soon.

The blue stool had been used in the bathroom when she and Petunia were to short to reach the taps to wash their hands. Petunia complained about it when she was taller, but her parents argued that Lily still wasn't big enough to reach the taps without it. Which was embarrassing, since Toony had been able to reach it at the age of four, while Lily only managed it at six. She'd always been small, or petite, as her mother called it.

But, then again, Toony's long neck was not something to be jealous of.

Grinning at her fortune to find it so soon, Lily picked up the stool and began dragging it up the steps after dumping the contents it'd had on top of it (The pillow and duvet).

You see, she planned to use it as a ladder to reach to spotty mug. It actually was an impromptu decision, as she had first thought to find some dusty box, but this stool was better, And safer, by a long-shot.

When she reached the top, panting, she realized something. There was _not_ ninety three steps- there was one hundred and six!

Oh yeah, and the door was locked.

At first, Lily had just planted the sky blue object down on the step behind her and believed it to simply be rusty hinges causing the door not to open.

But even when she shoved at it with all her might, it still _would not budge_.

"Toony!" She hissed angrily.

Now, not to sound like a goody goody, but Lily knew she needed sleep before school. And she had hoped to get it.

"Mooooom! Daaaad!" She yelled at the top of her voice, but all it did was echo around her, increasing the creepiness of her basement.

A small, nagging voice in her head reminded her what her mother had told her a few ago, when the subject of making the basement the music room, since Toony played the flute, Lily the piano, and her father the guitar: _The last owner of this house's son was a top notch drummer, and he used to use the basement to play since it had the most room. So his dad made the basement sound-proof, and it would be awfully handy to use it for your music, Lily, and you too, Petunia. Oh, and your dad is a little bit rusty on his guitar, too..._

Uh Oh.

"TOO-NEE!" She yelled, knowing that while she and her parents were heavy sleepers, her sister was not. In fact, she was a very light sleeper.

After about half an hour, Lily gave up on screaming in fury, and settled upon getting at least a _few_ hours of sleep.

So, sighing heavily, she departed from the top of the stairs, and, at her great misfortune, one by one, the remaining lights simply. Flicked. Out.

"Great," she moaned. "Just jolly."

She nearly tripped over the ditched stool, and swore loudly.

So, walking down the stairs in what was nearly pitch black lighting, she had the right to be a little paranoid.

_Careful! I'm gonna fall, I'm gonna fall_...

She somehow managed to reach the bottom of the stairs, ("_Wrong again, there's a hundred and eight steps!_") but completed her downward journey, by going downwards! AKA, she accomplished a utter stumble, and prolapsed...

onto a pile of dumped duvets and a single dropped pillow.

Thank goodness Lily wasn't one to tarry, or she may have carefully put those back, and when she fell later on, collapsed onto solid concrete!

Muttering obscenities ("No good bully, how dare she!?") at the sleeping Petunia, she organized the duvets so that she'd: be sitting on top of two (the floor was very hard, you couldn't blame her!); with a pillow beneath her head; and with the third and last duvet lay above her, keeping her warm.

She truly hated how Petunia could be happily dreaming about ruining Lily's life on a plush, comfortable bed, while Lily herself was a lay on a hand-made bed that wasn't exactly comfy, wishing forlornly for that warm cup of hot chocolate. The cause of her misfortune.

I mean, Toony was asleep, right?

'Cos, Lily was pretty certain she heard a very Petunia-like cackle when she was drifting to sleep...

* * *

_She was in Hogwarts, and she was walking to get a broom, though she had no clue why, since she hated heights. She opened the broom-closet, and a couple fell out and onto the ground. A girl with blonde hair and an unknown color of eyes, since hers were closed, and she was kissing a good-looking boy, with scraggly jet black hair, a somewhat tanned complex and freckles on his nose._

_It was Malorie Quirk, and to Lily's horror, she was kissing James Potter. _

_"You scumbag!" Lily cried._

_James stopped snogging Quirk, and slowly turned to Lily. "It's not like it would effect you, as if you've ever cared."_

_Then the dream changed into her kitchen, and Petunia was laughing at her, and then she morphed into the demonic Tulip._

_"And just since no boy's ever liked you and that it's unlikely one ever will, doesn't mean you must be jealous!" Said the cat mimicking what Petunia had told Lily the day of the Diagon Alley a good day gone wrong trip._

_"No boy's ever liked you!" Echoed repeatedly. "And it's unlikely one ever will, unlikely, unlikely... jealous..."  
_

_The cat chuckled. "Lily, Lily, Lily, Lily! Ah there you are,"_

Lily blinked her eyes open. It was not the cat, it was her- "Mum?" She said, then growled, remembering Petunia actions yesterday. "Mum, Toony lock-"

"You can tell me in the car, dear, oh do tell me your dressed!" Her mother told her, racing up the stairs in a flash.

Lily looked down at what she was wearing from yesterday. It was a bubble-gum pink and white striped tank top, and a pair of knee length denim shorts with torn knees.

"Er..."

"Just hurry!"

Lily looked one last time at what she was wearing, and sprinted up after her mum.

"Coming!" She called.

"Hurry up, now dear!" By the time she reached the hall, her mother was gesturing frantically to the door, but Lily ran past her.

"I'm getting my shoes and a new top!" She yelled, leaping three steps at a time. "So much... stair climbing!" She leaned against the top of the stair-case on the bannister, inhaling breathes greedily.

She jogged up into her room, and put a pair of white ankle socks on, which were followed by her pitch black school shoes.

She heard the ear-splitting honk of the family car's horn, took one last wistful look at the proper t-shirts, and one unhappy glance at her belly-showing tank top, before quickly leaving her room, kicking one leg over the bannister quite dangerously, and sliding down.

The conversation in the car would not be a pleasant one.

* * *

"Good luck, Lils." Smiled her mum as Lily departed from the green car.

"Your report was amazing last year, and we want a repeat for this year!" Her dad added sternly, though he had a proud gleam in his eyes.

"Bye." Murmured Petunia, glimpsing up from her muggle fashion magazine. "You look a little like Ruth Timber..." She said thoughtfully, her eyes scanning the page.

At the simple idea of fancy clothing and make-up, Lily blanched and excused herself, ignoring her mother's laughing smile.

_I'm going back! I'm going home_!

* * *

There was a girl with stringy brown hair, freckles all over her face and big chocolate brown eyes that reminded Lily of the hot chocolate she had wanted the other day.

"Lily!" Called Marlene, pushing her trolley over to her. "Are you OK," she asked in concern. "You look pretty worn out." She leaned closer. "Is it devastation from loss of Lames?"

Lily gave a weak laugh. "No, Toony locked me in the basement all night." Marlene gave her a look of pity.

"That girl's a beast." Lily nodded in an agreeing manner, remembering that evil cackle before she drifted into unconsciousness.

"How are you?" Lily asked. "We didn't talk much that day, Madam Malkin wouldn't let us! Nor the book shop lady, she and Madam Pince must be related!"

"_This is a_ _library_!" Marlene scowled, imitating Madam Pince perfectly.

"I heard that she's Madam Pince SR, now. She's got a little girl called Irma, who's joining the school this year."

"Aw, I bet she's nothing like her mum, since she only sees her during the summer."

"Poor thing," said Lily sympathetically.

They made it to platform nine ten minutes later, and walked in between it and platform ten.

"You go first," ordered Lily, grinning in anticipation.

Marlene shrugged. "Okay." And stormed towards the column, closing her eyes shut tight. There was a beam on her face.

When she disappeared through it, Lily flashed a toothy smile and followed in pursuit.

When she opened her brilliant green eyes, she gasped as she had on her first day. Platform 9 and 3/4 was as alive and bustling as it had been six years ago, she thought to herself joyously.

Mouth wide as if she was eleven again, she made her way through the thronged crowds over to Marlene.

Marlene patted her on the back, and voiced Lily's own thoughts. "I'm so excited to be back! Like, I'm serious-"

"No your not," cut in Lily, humored a little at her friends confusion. "Your Marlene."

Marlene giggled. "Oh ha ha ha. You are quite the joker, Lily."

"No, that's Potter."

She snorted again. "Stop with the name jokes, Lily."

"Aha! You got my name right!" She joked teasingly.

"Hardy har har." Her eyes widened. "Look it's Potter!"

"Where?" Cried Lily, swirling around.

"Ha, you've got it hard." Marlene informed her.

"You dirty little liar, he wasn't there!" Said Lily indignantly, as she stopped searching for James.

"Hmph. Don't pretend you weren't desperately looking for him." Lily didn't answer, as expected. And Marlene smirked. "You are in the L-word."

"The L-word?" Lily questioned curiously.

"Love!" Sang Marlene.

"Oh look, it's Potter."

"Ha ha." Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm not falling for it again, Marlene."

"No really, it's him." Assured Marlene, her eyes fixed on someone behind Lily.

Lily turned around, and blinked. It _was_ Potter.

He was sprinting, but not towards her. She watched, puzzled, as he went passed her.

His pace slowed.

One of the girls in a particular clique squealed, and tapped a certain Malorie Quirk, who turned and giggled in a high pitch voice to rival Petunia's.

Marlene shook her head and sighed. "You've lost him."

Lily watched in confusion as he walked over to the other girl, before whispering: "I never knew I had him."

* * *

James swaggered over to Malorie, confidence evident on his face.

She giggled, something he hated. Except when Lil- no more Lily thinking. He told himself, you're over her.

He attempted to kiss her cheek, but she pulled him in for a lip to lip snog. He almost needed to keep his nose from wrinkling. Then she tugged him in for a hug, and over her shoulder he could see Lily watching him in disappointment.

_She's beautiful...__ No, Prongs, stop thinking abut her._

When Lily saw him watching her, she looked down, her cheeks went only a tinge red.

James nearly regretted breaking away from the hug, if only because he couldn't see Lily Evans anymore.

His girlfriend, Malorie Quirk, was saying something, but he wasn't listening all that much. He was all too busy trying to shake the image of Lily Evan's crestfallen expression, and as Malorie dragged him off in the close direction of her gawking friends, he muttered in an inaudible tone:

"It's not that I don't love you, it's just that I've finally figured out that you don't love me back."

And with one last glance at the girl he had grown to love, and back at the one he told himself he _would_ grow to love, he sighed.

Made a decision.

And gave up on Lily Evans...

At least, he _thought_ he had...

**So, no reviews. That's... sad.**

**Well, thanks at least for reading :)**

**And please, review! It helps quicken the updates!**


	3. Consequences, and realizations

**A/N: Thank you sooo much, reviewers! You really made my day!**

_She was given the world  
So much that she couldn't see  
And she needed someone to show her,  
Who she could be.  
And she tried to survive  
Wearing her heart on her sleeve  
But I needed you to believe_

_You had your dreams, I had mine._  
_You had your fears, I was fine._  
_You showed me what I couldn't find,_  
_When two different worlds collide._

_La dee da dee da_

_She was scared of it all, watching from far away._  
_She was given a role, never knew just when to play._  
_And she tried to survive_  
_Living her life on her own_  
_Always afraid of the throne_  
_But you've given me strength to find home._

_You had your dreams, I had mine._  
_You had your fears, I was fine._  
_You showed me what I couldn't find,_  
_When two different worlds collide._

_D.L, two worlds collide._

"The: Hogwarts Express is boarding now! Ten minutes left until departing."

"Come on, come on!" Cried out Marlene, "remember in second year when the marauders locked us out of here? Well, I ain't letting that happen again!"

A girl with long, pale blonde hair and thoughtful grey eyes, Debbie, had arrived moments before, seconded that, and began rushing up to the train, followed swiftly by her friend.

Lily, who was never one to dawdle, was running in front of her friends, dragging with all her strength a big brown trunk, and muttering insults under her breath. _Toony... brat... how could she?... a bloody basement?..._

"Hurry!" Cried Lily, who was first onto the train out of all the students.

"We have ten... blooming... minutes..." Complained Debbie, pitifully trying to lug her trunk onto the train with her.

"Yeah!" Agreed Marlene, who was having an equally difficult time lugging her trunk after her.

Lily shot them _the look_. Let's end it with there was no more arguing.

"Here, lets take this compartment." Said Marlene. "I don't feel like walking much more."

"Hm." Said Debbie, still attempting to catch her lost breath. "You open it, Lil, you have a free hand." She explained logically.

So, rolling her green orbs, Lily opened up the compartment door, and said an apology.

"What is it?" Asked Marlene.

"It's okay," said a new voice. "You can come in, there's plenty of room."

Marlene and Debbie peaked in and saw a small girl with big hazel brown eyes, long straight black hair pulled up into a plait, and a green top and jeans on her. She was sitting at the window seat, holding a school book labeled: _The element of cheese & how to control this power_.

The girl saw them glancing at he book, and smiled. She held up the yellow cover for them to see. "It's quite silly so far, and I'm pretty certain cheese is _not_ an element."

Lily, Debbie, and Marlene politely took the remaining seats, and said a few words of thanks to the girl.

"Hi, I'm Debbie." Introduced Debbie. "This is Marlene," she said, pointing to Marlene who waved awkwardly. "And this is Lily."

"Hi, I'm Irma. Irma Pince."

Marlene's eyes widened. "Georgia Pince's daughter?"

"Yep." Said the girl- Irma.

Lily smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Irma."

"You too." She said.

"Have you any friends coming this year?" Asked Debbie.

Irma's smile faltered. "No," she said, looking downwards at the small blue parcel at her own feet.

"What's wrong?" Queried Marlene, speaking up again.

Irma picked up the parcel at her feet. "My best friend gave me this. He's really nice and-"

"He?" Marlene said, raising an eyebrow and smiling knowingly.

"Yes." Said Irma, somewhat confused. "It's a really pretty bracelet that I pointed out in town once, and he bought it for me." She said, a little teary eyed.

"Muggle?"

"What?"

"Is he a muggle?" Repeated Marlene.

Irma spotted something, very interesting I'm sure, at her feet again. "Yeah."

"Don't worry," grinned Lily. "Your prince will come some day."

"What about yours?"

"Mine... oh, er..." Lily seemed flabbergasted, and stared forlornly at the window, where a boy and girl were snogging and holding up the entire line.

Debbie giggled. "Lily's?" She winked at her two pals. "Oh, he got lost, took a few wrong turns, and is too darn stubborn to ask for directions."

Irma looked at Lily sympathetically. "I'm sure he'll come through, eventually. I mean, that girl he's kissing seems to be really irking him." She said, gesturing to James.

"Yeah- wait, how did you do that?"

"Do what?" Asked the girl innocently.

"Know that? I never pointed him out?"

Irma blinked, like she had only noticed that now. "Oh," she said slowly. "It's this weird thing I do. I saw you look at him and you looked really disappointed, and I guessed it was 'cos of the blonde bimbo kissing him." She patted her hair down sheepishly. "Sorry if I freaked you out."

The three girls shared a glimpse, before beaming at her. "No need to say sorry," said Debbie cheerfully. "That's sounds really cool- can you guess my crush?" She asked eagerly.

Irma blinked, and watched Debbie for a second and everything she did. "That guy over there?" She said, pointing to the marauders who were giving Jame's new girl skeptical looks. "Light brown hair, green eyes?"

Marlene turned to the flushed Debbie. "Remus Blooming _Lupin_?" Debbie nodded shyly. "Aw! That's so bloody cute!"

Debbie smiled. "Thank Merlin you're not screaming at me."

Lily was a little crestfallen, but pleased all the same. "You should have told us!"

Debbie blushed again.

Irma cleared her throat, loudly.

All heads turned to her. "What?"

She giggled. "You-know-who has been knocking on the door for three minutes."

Debbie and Marlene chuckled but Lily was just plain old puzzled. "Who?" She questioned, but then needed to clamp her hands over her aching ears:

"_COME IN_!" Called Marlene.

"Merlin, that's you-know-who?" Whispered Lily in an inaudible voice.

Because none other then James Damien Potter was staring down at them.

He blinked, his eyes skimming over each of them. "Hello," he said uncomfortably. "Have you seen Malorie?"

Lily lost her patience. "Does it _look_ like we're bloody amigos with the blonde bimbo?" She snapped.

James blinked, then a look of fury appeared upon his face. "Just since no boy's ever liked you and that it's unlikely one ever will, doesn't mean you've gotta be blooming jealous."

Lily's eyes lost the glimmer of joy on seeing him, and were replaced with look of pure misery. She opened her mouth to speak, probably nothing too complimentary, but shut it abruptly.

"You twit!" Cried out Debbie. "Go out and find your stupid girlfriend, but leave Lily alone, you _jerk_!" Then she mumbled none too quietly. "Lily's right, she's a darn blonde bimbo."

The door slammed shut, and Irma laughed nervously. "Well, you can thank me for that insult."

Marlene gave a weak smile."Don't worry, Lily. He's just pretending that he hasn't been besotted with you since second year."

Lily looked up, teary eyed. "Don't you get it, Marlene? He's just proved e right. He never did like me, it was all a big. Fat. Blooming. Joke."

**_I'm scared that agreeing to go out with him will only give him a reason to__ laugh_**!

_Now I'm scared that I was right._

"Oh, Lils." Debbie said, shaking her head. "He's probably just in denial. Stupid Quirk."

"Yeah, stupid Quirk." She murmured. The red haired girl smiled a little. "You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for."

Irma coughed purposely, a cheeky grin on her face, and everyone laughed.

The two chuckled, and chorused."We know!"

* * *

"Back in a few," said Lily, placing down her exploding snap cards.

"Hurry!" Debbie told her, eyes fixed on her cards. "Red 9, please, red 9."

"Yeah," Marlene said distractedly, smugly putting down a green 7. "Snap!" Cue a large booming noise from the snap players side of the room.

So Lily silently slipped out the sliding door, and made her way towards the bathroom...

And caused a collision between her and another student. She toppled down, falling next to the boy. Standing up, she extended a hand to the fallen boy. "I'm so sor- Sev!" She shrieked, hugging the black haired boy with all her might.

"Lily?" Severus Snape said, ruffling his hair. "Sorry, I didn't see you coming." He smiled. "How are you?"

"Not brilliant," Lily confessed, explaining what happened during she and James' encounter.

"Bloody moron," muttered Severus. His lips quirked upwards. "I learned the bat bogey hex..."

"Miranda Goshawk's hex? Wow." She breathed. "That's amazing, care to tell?"

After ten minutes of briefing on what it does and how to flick your wand, Lily cut in with: "What's the hex?"

"Fevrarune."

"Fev-er-ah - roo-en." Repeated Lily, before grinning. "Thanks Sev, do you know where is James Potter sitting, by a matter of chance?"

* * *

"I didn't mean to offend her, but Merlin, she was on the verge of tears when I left!" James exclaimed, hardly taking a single breath of air.

Sirius Padfoot Black stroked his chin, analyzing the many consequences of upsetting Lily Evans. "Hm, well, I have come to a scientific conclusion," he said, his voice nearly as serious as his name.

James' face lifted with hope-

"If she doesn't _already_ hate you, well, she does now."

- and then fell with discouragement.

"Maybe if you let your ego deflate a little," prompted Remus. "And _apologized_, she might forgive you."

"Um," Sirius seemed to be pondering it. "Nah, it'll never work. Prongs' ego could empty a room, it is not possible for it to 'deflate'." He said, making quotation marks with his fingers at the word 'deflate'.

"Hey!" Cried out an indignant James.

"No, you're right. It could empty the school, too bad everyone's too used to you to let it work."

"Lily will not let me apologize, she'll hex me at my first word!" He looked encouragingly at his friends, and after about three minutes, grunted: "This is the part where you start comforting me about how she will come through and forgive me, because I'm such a great person."

Remus opened his mouth, but Sirius interrupted. "_Great person_? If you made it as a nice guy in her books, that would be a miracle!"

James was about to retort, when the door slid open.

It was Lily Evans, and her wand was wielded in a threatening manner.

"Woah, woah woah." Said James, putting his hands up in surrender. "I was just going to-" his apology was snapped short as Lily shouted at him.

"Insult me? Act a right jerk? Show your inner idiot?"

Sirius snorted. "It's more like his everyday idiot."

"Padfoot..."

"_Fevrarune!_"

* * *

"And his bat bogeys were just flying in his face, Sev saw it all, he said-"

"So," Irma said, waving her hands in a way of saying 'slow down!' as they exited the train. "Let me get this straight. He's trying to apologize to you, and you hex him dumb."

"Pretty much, it wasn't painful, though. Though I wish it was." She assured.

"And then you tell him to control his ego, thinking everything has to do with him," continues Marlene.

Debbie then finishes the story, a mischievous gleam in her grey eyes. "And that not every girl in the school sees him as a superhuman."

"AKA, us." Marlene confirmed solemnly, though a grin is itching to make an appearance.

"That's about it." Lily agreed.

"Wow, and I thought I was the only one who didn't see his as a superhuman, oh Lily, you always surprise me. And how did Prince Charming take this?" Giggled Marlene.

"Mm hm," agreed Debbie eagerly. "How did he react?"

"Badly." Groaned Lily. "He's probably gonna prank me to down there." She said, self-pitiful, pointing down to the ground.

"You're dead." Agreed Debbie.

"What kind of flowers do you want for your funeral?" Piped up Irma.

* * *

"OK," started Sirius. "We need some major revenge."

Porky Peter raised a shaking hand.

"Yes, Wormtail." Black said impatiently.

"Er... well, erm... eh..."

"Get on with it," complained Black.

"Oh, uh, well, how are you going to, er, do that."

"Do you _naturally_ stutter?"

"No!"

Sirius shot him a skeptical glare, but answered begrudgingly. "By means of marauding. We must think of the most, amazing, fantastic, prankerific trick ever! We must publicly humiliate her! Ruin her social life! Create an outcast of a witch, and make all men reject her!" He turned excitedly to James. "Whaddya think?"

"Great, but er, could we get rid of the whole 'We must publicly humiliate her! Ruin her social life! Create an outcast of a witch, and make all men reject her!' thing?"

"Sorry," apologized Sirius. "I was in the zone."

"Obviously." Remus said under his breath.

"So, any ideas, Prongs, Wormbrain- tail, I meant tail, or how about you, Moony?"

"None." Shrugged Remus, not particularly wanting to get involved. He honestly liked Lily- as a friend- and often disagreed with the inhuman pranks the others made for her.

""Don't look at me." Said Peter.

"Wouldn't want to." Laughed Padfoot. "Prongs?" He asked desperately.

James followed Remus' example, shrugging. "Sorry Padfoot, care to enlighten us with whatever evil plot is stewing in your mind, in present timing?"

Sirius let out a wolfish grin, which made Messr. Moony flinch.

"I was hoping you would say that."

* * *

The three girls were laughing at one of Marlene's jokes, as they sat in the thestral-driven carriages. They had miraculously managed to convince Hagrid, the kind grounds keeper giant, to let Irma sit with them, since she was 'shy' and didn't know any of her fellow first years.

The threesome was sitting on large, plump, plush white seats, and conversing cheerfully.

"OK, and the nice ex is getting really annoyed at the girl who stole her boyfriend, and answers back: Roses are red, frogs are green, you're the ugliest frog, that I've ever seen!" The girls giggle again. "OK, and so the boyfriend-robber huffs and all and retorts: Roses are red, violets are blue, Merlin made me pretty, what happened to you. And this guy who secretly likes the ex, is walking by, and is pretty angry about the insult on his crush, and says: Merlin made rivers, Merlin made lakes, Merlin made you- well, we all make mistakes."

And that got all the girls got into hysterical laughter.

"Oh, god," said Lily in between chortles. "That was brilliant. I've got to use that at Black. How come all of the Gryffindor boys- excluding Remus and Pettigrew- have egos to suffocate you?"

"No clue, we're just unlucky, I guess. Your lucky, midget." Joked Debbie.

"You know, I'm actually twelve. I started school when I was five, so they had to make we wait an extra year to come here." Said Irma.

"Oh, apologies." Said Debbie.

There was a short awkward silence, when Marlene disrupted it with another story, with her trade-mark 'OK'. "OK, it was during the puritan times, and this one girl was in court for not attending church, and the judge guy goes: 'You know why you are here, filth'. And she's liek: 'Yeah, I had chicken-pox on a Sunday'. And the guy gets really mad and starts saying how she'll be burnt to death on a stake, and the muggle girl is actually really scared and tries to explain that she's a muggle, when this real medi-witch sees what's happening, and embarrasses everyone by explaining how she was healing the girl that Sunday... and what's worse, she's the judges wife!"

Chuckles escaped their lips.

"OK, there-" Marlene's next fascinating tale was interrupted as the pristine white doors boom open, and they were helped out by Hagrid, who had just completed giving his ahnd out to first years.

"Miss Pince, your be comin' with me, for yeh sorting." He said gruffly, smiling.

"Irma nods, and mouths at them: _not Slytherin, I hope_!

As they made there was to enter the great hall, the doors clatter shut. Marlene, Debbie and Lily are the last ones to reach the castle, so they were totally and utterly alone.

"We're locked out?" Cried out Marlene. "But I'm bloody starving!"

They didn't hear a few spells being whispered, _Falunta! Granto! Bveliono!_

They didn't notice they're Hogwarts robes morphing into black tops with white skulls on them, or that all there hair darkened by a few shades, or that there black shoes turned into combat boots, or even that there faces became white with make-up.

"Simple pranking, gets 'em every time." Whispered Padfoot, smirking.

Prongs seconded this, looking with great anticipation on his face. He almost felt a little bad, this _would_ be mortifying. Well, almost is too kind, he was pretty far from pity, but that was because he was only thinking of _now_ and not _then_.

And you should always consider an outcome, especially when it involves three tired, frustrated, and pretty darn hungry girls.

"Alahomora!" Grunts Peter.

And the doors fly open...

Lilym looks at her friends and shrieks something like "Look, we've been-"

Her speech is interfered...

by a whole lot of humiliating,

unpropitious,

and really quite upsetting

ongoing, ever lasting, eternal,

(well, it felt that way)

laughter.

It doesn't when stop when Lily Evans, soon followed by Debbie Lovegood and Marlene McKinnon, flees the seen,

their heads held down in shame.

James opened his mouth as Lily flashed by, but her silencing, death-glare stopped him.

And so you really should always consider an outcome, when it just happens you realize you still like the girl.

_If only a bit, I mean, she hates me. Right?_

Wrong.

**Thank you, reviews are appreciated!**

**Hope you enjoyed reading the chapter as much as I did writing- typing- it.**

**Best wishes,**

**Cookie Seller On The Dark Side.**

**PS. Did you recoginze James' insult "No boy ever like you" as Petunia's? I was trying to make it even MORE upsetting for poor Lily. Poor Lils.**


	4. Nothing better then revenge for dinner

**Thank you so very very very very very very very very very very ****very very very very very very very very very very ****very very very very very very very very very very ****very very very very very very very very very very ****very very very very very very very very very very ****very very very very very very very very very very**

******VERY **

**much, reviewers!**

* * *

**Do you still feel like you know what you're doing?**  
**'Cause I don't think you do. Oh.  
Do you still feel like you know what you're doing?  
I don't think you do  
I don't think you do  
Let's hear the applause  
Come on show me how much better you are (so much better, yeah)  
So you deserve some applause 'cause you're so much better**

_**"Now go stand in the corner and think about what you did"**_

_** Ha!**_  
_** Time for a little revenge**_

**Do you still feel like you know what you're doing?**  
** 'Cause I don't think you do. Oh.**  
** Do you still feel like you know what you're doing?**  
** I don't think you do**  
** I don't think you do**  
** Let's hear the applause**  
** Come on show me how much better you are (so much better, yeah)**  
** So you deserve some applause 'cause you're so much better**

**__****Time for a little revenge!**

**_-Taylor Swift, better then Revenge._**

The great hall was still filled with laughter, and the only quiet spot was at the teacher's table.

"Goodness, Headmaster." Said Professor McGonagall. "Lily Evans and her friends wouldn't do this kind of stunt, and I have reasons to believe that they have been fooled."

"Ah, Minerva," Dumbledore answered, his eyes twinkling. "I understand. But what proof do you have?"

"That Mr Black, Mr Pettigrew and Mr Potter are only arriving now." Growled the teacher, walking up to the announcement pedestal.

"Mr Black, Mr Pettigrew and Mr Potter, detention for the next two weeks!" The laughter started again.

"Aw, Minnie." Groaned Black, leaning lazily against one of the Gryffindor tables, and the girl sitting there began to giggle madly, blushing wildly as he winked at her.

"_Two weeks_?" Said Potter, obviously appalled.

"Yeah!" Agreed Peter.

"Oh, fine, Mr Potter." The professor smiled at James' smug look. "Three weeks."

* * *

"I can't believe him!" Cried out Lily, for the seventh time.

"We know, Lily." Said Debbie. "But it's not like he hasn't done this sort of thing before."

"I know," she sighed. "It's just that..."

"You like him now." Finished Marlene, in a very different way to what Lily was going to say.

Lily blushed. "Well, that too. But it's the blooming first day, and he hasn't done it so... well, _publically_."

"I know. The arrogant idiots." Said Debbie, smiling weakly. "Well, I bet McGonagall busted them, even more publically!"

"I should hope so," carried on Lily. "I mean, it's bad enough them privately tricking us, but in front of the _whole_ school. How humiliating."

"You know what we should do?" Debbie asked, an evil glint in her eye.

"No, what?"

"We should prank them back!"

* * *

Mary MacDonald, a good acquaintance of Lily, Debbie and Marlene, just so happened to be sitting next to Irma Pince, the newly sorted Gryffindor. They had just introduced each other, and were now watching as the marauders snorted and messed around on another Gryffindor table.

"That was so mean." Muttered Irma, not expecting an answer.

"Yes," Mary said in assent, but she knew how the marauders worked. "But Lily, Debbie or Marlene must have done something _horrible_ to them, if they did something as big as that."

Irma wanted to ask how Mary knew them, but her anger bubbled a little and Irma argued back, now defensive of her new friends."No, Potter told Lily no boys ever liked her and no boys ever will, so she used the bat bogey hex on him for revenge. But in _private_. Then he _publically_ and _unfairly_ embarrasses her and her friends- who had nothing to do with it- and makes them miss dinner." She gave Mary a look, and Mary let the argument fall.

"I suppose." Admitted Mary. Then Mary remembered Lily's mortified face as she ran off. "Oh gosh, poor them. I guess that _was_ really cruel. Well, we better check on them later." She glanced at where James, Sirius, Peter and Remus were sitting, and stomped over, her look of pity replaced by an expression of pure fury. "_Ugh_."

"Mary, wait!" Mary turned around impatiently. "I'm coming too!"

* * *

"And how do you think we should prank them back? Scratch should, _could_ we prank them back?" Asked Lily curiously.

Debbie grinned. "What's the most important thing to them?"

"Not their grades," laughed Marlene. "Or what teachers think of them," then her eyes widened in realization, and turned eager. "But on the other hand, you have what g-"

Debbie nodded frantically. "Yes, what the ladies think of them is _really_ special to them!"

"So what do you propose we do?" Said Lily, still skeptical.

"We still have a hour left of the opening feast." Said Marlene, taking over the operation, and checking the muggle wrist-watch Lily had given her their last Hogwarts Christmas. "So, you know how they're always teasing Pettigrew about how he looks?"

"Yes!" Beamed Debbie, getting the idea.

"We could put the handsome charm on him," continued Marlene, "and a hideous hex on the rest!"

"Not Remus!" Cut in Debbie. When all eyes went to her, her face went a rosy red. "Yeah, well, he hasn't done anything wrong."

"And he hasn't helped, so he won't get a handsome charm." Said Marlene.

"But it's essential that we don't get caught." Said Lily, eyes lit up in excitement. "And it will be a long-lasting hideous hex!"

Debbie snickered. "Only Remus would be at all smart enough to know the counter-curse. And if I know him well enough, he won't help, at least for a few days. Just to bring down their egos a bit."

"Yes! It's perfect!" Cackled Marlene vilely. "Mwa ha ha ha!"

And wouldn't you know?

Thunder crackled loudly in the back-round.

* * *

"Did you see there faces? They were-"

"Disgraced? Demeaned?" Asked Remus angrily. "They were really upset, guys. That wasn't really fair."

"Who says?" Sirius quarreled.

"I do. Lily looked like she might cry!" Remus said, he turned to James. "She's going to hate you forever if you don't apologize."

"I know," he muttered. "wait, who says I even _care_?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Just tell her you're sorry, and be done with it."

Sirius scowled. "As if he's going to do that, we're _men_."

James laughed, while Remus frowned. "Men have the guts to tell a girl they're sorry."

"Oh look, two girls are coming up to us." Noticed James.

"What's new," said Sirius, patting down his hair.

The two girls stopped in front of them.

* * *

"How could you be so mean?!" Mary burst out with.

"Yeah." Seconded Irma, glaring at James.

Sirius chuckled in a way he thought was charming- the girls found it conceited. "Now, now, ladies. It was all in good fun. Now, shoo shoo." He said, lazily gesturing for them to go somewhere else. Mary's fury bubble expanded and... popped!

**_Smack_**!

* * *

As Lily, Debbie and Marlene strolled down the hallway in the direction of the great hall, a flash went by them.

"Wow," said Marlene, steadying herself. "Someone's in a rush."

Irma was running after the racing girl, and stopped to give the girls a toothy grin. "I made Gryffindor! And Mary MacDonald smacked Sirius Black for tricking you guys!"

"Double wow." Chorused Marlene and Debbie in harmony.

Lily was smiling like there was no tomorrow. "Tell her Lily said thanks!"

"And Debbie!" Debbie requested.

"And Marlene!" Marlene added, then turned to Lily. "I take back what I said last year about Mary crushing hard on Black- she's amazing!"

Debbie nodded, a grin on her face. "Ditto."

Irma collected all the messages, laughed out loud one last time, and ran in the direction of the Gryffindor dorms, still chortling to herself merrily.

Lily faced her friends once more, her earlier giggly face changed into a mask of seriousness. Then her expression contorted into one of mischief and enigma. "Let's go."

* * *

"Good Holy Merlin, that MacDonald girl sure does bloody know how to pack a punch," groaned Sirius, nursing his bright red cheek. "Like, come on, did she _have_ to do that?"

James sniggered noisily. "Well, you were treating her like a blooming slave, Padfoot. I'd say she had a score to settle."

"I don't know why she didn't hit you, too, Prongs. I mean, you had as much to do with her friends pranking as Padfoot did." Remus said thoughtfully.

Peter said some very quietly under his breath.

"What was that, Wormtail, do you have something to add?" Asked Sirius, rolling his grey orbs.

"I said," Peter mumbled indignantly. "That I heard from some girls-"

"Eavesdropping again, or stalking?" Joked Sirius.

Peter's ears went red. "That she used to like him once when she was younger."

Sirius scowled. "Just because she likes me- wait, what? Why would she bloody smack me if she likes me."

A light bulb appeared over Remus' head. "_Liked you_. Not, 'likes you'. You must have done something upsetting to her, or she grew out of the crush. Though it must have been possibility one, since smacking you must have been pretty enjoyable, from the look on her face."

"More like merely touching me at all. Like, half the girls would like to smack me, and only a tiny amount would have fun smacking me, not because of being so near to me."

"Conceited brat." Coughed one girl from the Ravenclaw table, who Sirius shamelessly winked at.

"They love me." Declared he.

"Sure~" Drawled James, dragging the 'ur'.

"I feel sorry for all the girls that like you," said Remus sadly. "You publically dump them, and break their hearts."

"Ah, they'll move on." He said, before whispering: "Eventually."

_Caboom, boom, boom!_ Echoed through the room. Someone had entered the room, and it was the now-out-of-goth-clothes-and-into-robes-girls.

"OI, lookie, it's the goth girls!" Some stupid second year Hufflepuff yelled.

Lily cast him a dark look. "Evera." She said silently.

"Aargh!" Screamed the boy as he looked at a mirror-resembling silver platter. In which he could clearly see a enormous blistering red wart growing on his nose, getting bigger by the second, three on his neck and another on his chin, all of which were doing the same as the first. So to say, growing _even bigger_.

James searched the room, and when his eyes finally laded on McGonagall, he felt his mouth gawp. The teacher, though she had strictly punished him for a short lasting spell, was pretending the long-lasting wart hex hadn't even happened. And James began to think he was going delusional when he saw the teacher notice Justin Jordan and his new pimples, and _smile_.

God, he was going bonkers.

The girls walked over to some seats a few benches away from the marauders.

Peter gulped. "Lovegood's sending me a really, _really_ evil eye." James followed his stare and saw that Debbie was glaring holes in each one of their heads, changing marauder every few seconds. She caught eyes with him, and gave a very, _very_ vile smirk. James shuddered, breaking the eye-contact.

Debbie said something to her friends, and their wand hands disappeared under the table.

James nudged Padfoot, who saw the motion and gave Professor Minerva McGonagall a pleading glance.

But McGonagall simply smiled pleasantly, trailing his eyes to where Lily, Debbie, and Marlene were sitting, hands under the table. The professor's eyes widened, and James waited hopefully for her to stop them, and they were now all whispering. The professor then did something very odd... she chuckled.

"Holy Merlin." Said James. The teacher obviously knew that the girls' were going to hex the pants of him and his mates, but seemed jolly at the fact.

He was pondering whether yelling '_protego!_' would draw to much attention, when a deep, horrible pain shot him in the back. His bones were grinding together, shrinking and making him shrink in the his eyes fell to his arms.

They were very, freakishly, hairy.

Something itched on his face, and he remembered Justin Jordan and his horror when he looked at a mirror.

Grabbing the nearest empty silver platter, James pressed it in front of his face, let out a silent scream, before thrusting his platter to Padfoot, who looked up and laughed, looked down and gasped. Then he looked at Peter, and gaped some more.

For Peter, he had grown taller and skinnier, his facial hair and pimples had disappeared and his face too. He was now a very handsome, good-looking guy, the sort of man James was five minutes ago.

Was, as you can see, is in past tense.

Because, to their disgust, Padfoot and Prongs- their hair had gone grey, overly long, and everywhere. Warts had grown all over him, and he had gotten smaller in height and bigger in weight and width.

"AAII!" They screeched in unison. All heads spun around to face them... all mouths opened to laugh.

"Ah, Mr Potter, why don't you make your way to the hospital wing, you to Mr Black, Mr Pettigrew." Said Professor McGonagall, smiling.

As they made their way out through parted giggling crowds, Peter piped up with: "Could I-"

"No, Mr Pettigrew, you must return to your regular form." There was more laughter at this.

As Peter, James and Serius walked by Debbie, Marlene and Lily, they were quite sure they hear the words:  
"Didn't expect that, hospital wing, hah!"

"Ah well, they got their just desserts!"

"That was great! Let's do that again!"

So the threesome left, blushing with humility, and in Peter's case, disappointment that he couldn't keep 'the look'.

Sirius opened his mouth, but was disrupted by James. "No more getting them back," he said. "We concentrate on Snivellus, and on general pranks."

"Sounds good." Said Sirius, frowning a little.

"OK." Agreed Peter.

They found themselves at the hospital wing, and smiled thankfully (or frowned worriedly, for Peter) as Madam Pomfrey came in.

She took one look at them... and laughed.

"Ah you boys, finally got your just deserts, eh?"

The boys looked at each other.

_Do all the teachers hate us or something?_

Or in which James was in far away thoughts, and -as you could easily guess- they were based on a certain, red haired, green as a emerald eyed, kind-hearted Lily Evans.

_Is it just me or does Lily Evans look gorgeous even as a goth, and she looked beautiful in school robes too, which is impressive. I love the way her face heats up when she's angry, and how she smiles at my least painful pranks..._

* * *

**There we go! I just saw the second Percy J movie. Awful, compared to the books, and it's only loosly at all like them.  
**

**I'm sorry ti's a little short, but enjoy, none the less!**

_**A summary for the next chapter: "Why have you planted yourself in my dreams, Potter?" She spat.**_

_**"What?" He asked, genuinly confused.**_

_**She blinked. "You mean you didn't slip something in that dreamless sleep potion we made yesterday?"**_

_**"No," then the look of befuddlement morphed into one of a smirk. "You were dreaming about me?"**_

_**Oh, good Merlin, Lily thought to herself, what have I gotten myself into?**_

**Thank you for reading, and updates come quicker if I get three reviews!**

**Or more, :D.**

**-Cookie Seller On The Dark Side, OUT.**


	5. Outcomes, stupid, remember that?

**_Thanks reviewers!_**

**_So far so great, get with it_**  
**_At least that's how I see it_**  
**_Having a dream's just the beginning_**  
**_So far so great, believe it_**  
**_Can't take away this feeling_**  
**_Taking a ride with chance to my side_**  
**_Yeah, I can't wait_**  
**_So far, so great_**

**_Everyone says don't get your hopes up_**  
**_Learn the ropes and climb the ladder_**  
**_I know in the end that just being here is the best_**  
**_And it only gets better, it only gets better_**

**_So far so great, get with it_**  
**_At least that's how I see it_**  
**_Having a dream's just the beginning_**  
**_So far so great, believe it_**  
**_Can't take away this feeling_**  
**_Taking a ride with chance to my side_**  
**_Yeah, I can't wait_**  
**_So far, so great_**  
**_I can't wait_**  
**_So far so great._**

**_-Taylor Swift, so far so great_**.

* * *

They had been back at Hogwarts for a week, and they had yet to find any classes with Potter or any of the marauders. The five girls, Marlene, Lily, Debbie, Mary and Irma had been attempting to keep clear of the boys they had scorned. Three of these five girls, Debbie, Marlene and Lily sighed as they compared time-tables at the breakfast buffet.

"I've got double potions with the Slytherins." poor Lily groaned.

"Oh, hush up." Debbie said. "You don't have to worry at all!" Exclaimed she. "Professor Slughorn adores you, and you always get Os in your tests! I've got Arithmancy with Professor Shutdoor! And he bloody despises me!"

"Shudd-er." Giggled Marlene giddily. "I'm not taking Arithmancy this year," she said with glee in her tone. "But I still have to take potions this year, so I'm with you, Lily."

"Lucky." Debbie said enviously, taking another look at her schedule. "Hm, I've got two easy subjects in one day: Herbology and Muggle-studies. Great!"

Lily smiled. "I've took those two, as well."

"Me too!" Cried Marlene, pleased she wasn't alone in that decision. "Thank God we're not all stuck together in History of Magic. I heard Professor Binns has taken it to a new low, and that it's even _more_ boring then last year."

The History of Magic class was taught by the ghost, Cuthbert Binns. He had been in the staff room one day, fallen asleep, and slowly died as he slept. He went to class the next day and continued his job as a professor. Though his subject was rather fascinating, he, as a teacher, was not. Not many students had taken up History of Magic this year for that very reason.

Lily tut-tutted. "Cut him some slack, guys. He's been dead for thirty years, he must be awfully tired."

Debbie and Marlene shared a look.

"Teachers pet." They laughed in unison.

"Oi," Lily said. "I'm just being rational. I mean, like honestly, how would you like being dead for thirty years? Teaching a bunch of kids who are enchanting paper airplanes for the most of your class?"

The guilty two stared at the floor.

Lily smiled, forgiving them instantly. "Thank Merlin that Potter's not in our class."

* * *

"_What_?" She hissed. It had been have an hour since breakfast and Lily and Marlene were sitting in the dark dungeons. The dungeons had dark, black bricks, unevenly positioned and crooked for the flooring, and smooth navy walls, so smooth, they were, that it was evident they had been cut straight out of the cavern that the dungeons once were. There were scattered grey chairs and tables for the students to work at (Only nine of which were occupied), and a large desk sat in the front of the room, near the black board. In white chalk the words: _Slug Club, 9:15, today!_ were written.

Marlene gave her an odd look. "Yes, Lily, Slug Club is on today."

"Not that," she said dismissively. "Look who's coming in."

Marlene craned her neck, ans spun back to Lily, hiding her face in her hands.

"They're going to poison us, I swear, we're dead." She told Lily mournfully, glaring miserably at the two boys, Sirius and James, who just happened to steal the seat next to Lily, then Marlene.

"Dead as a doornail." Lily agreed downheartedly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Debbie sat down in the near empty Arithmancy classroom, tracing some scars in the table out of boredom.

"Hi, Debbie." She looks up, hoping to see Lily or Marlene, but Mary stood there. Well, good enough for me, she thought in relief.

And so the two get into a rather interesting conversation on what name sounds cuter: Jily or Lames.

"Lames forever."

"I'm more into Jily, to be honest."

And ironically, though unbeknownst to the two girls, James and Lily were talking in the Potions classroom just as intently. Although, perhaps they weren't being quite so friendly to one another.

* * *

"NO! Don't put the Golly Rod in with the essence of newt!" Yelled Lily.

James rolled his eyes indignantly. "Well sorry, but I'm trying it."

Lily tried to protest some more, but it made no difference. When James Potter set his mind on something, it remained that way.

"Mr Potter," Professor Slughorn intervened at exactly the right time, and James' worriedly dropped his Golly rod onto the table with a clunk. "Yes, Mr Potter, could you tell me the difference between Gillyweed and Illyweed?"

"Er..." James thought for a moment. "There's no 'G' in Illyweed?"

* * *

"I can't believe Professor Shutdoor gave me a detention." Growled Mary. "Just for saying he was wrong about his magi square method. His ego's worse then Black's!" She saw Debbie's confused look and added. "Not the people, Black as in Sirius Black."

Debbie nodded, understanding now.

Mary smiled, and started talking again. "I can't believe that most of the girl's population of Hogwarts love him and potter. They're such jerks."

Debbie suddenly let out a loud, highly audible squeak, earning a glare from Professor Shutdoor. "Wait..." She said, horror in her eyes. "Potter and Black aren't taking divination, are they?"

"No." Mary said, puzzled.

"And they aren't in this class..."

"No."

Debbie gasped. "And Potions is the only other class on at this time! So Marlene and Lily are trapped with them!"

* * *

"Now that you are done with your sleeping draughts, you may make their opposites." He saw Lily's waving hand and smiled. "And what would that be, Miss Evans."

"A dreamless sleep potion. Made with ground hedgehog spikes, blue-moon essence, spittle of a Thestral, and a hair from the patients head. The potion can be-"

"-Many different colors, yes, ten points to Gryffindor, Miss Evans, well done." He looked at his disgusted students. For those who don't know, Thestrals' are creatures of the night that can only be seen by people who have witnessed death. Thestral spittle contains healing properties, and mixed with hair from the dreamer's head makes them immune to dreaming for a night. The hedgehog spikes will keep it strong against the brain, and it's more like a safety measure so that the potion won't be over-powered. And finally, the blue-moon essence is very rare, but powerful. We use it in the potion for a pitiful reason though," he chuckled. "The essence makes it taste better."

The class laughed a little, but looked down one last time at the vials of spittle in revulsion.

"Ew," murmured Eliza Steward, her pace had gone pale as she looked at grotesque ingredients.

"That's disgusting!" Said the childish Cornelius Fudge in agreement. "Yuck. This is crazy."

"As crazy as you getting that dream job, eh, Fudge?" Snorted one boy. Everyone laughed, it was a very well-known fact that Cornelius Fudge desperately wanted to become the Minister for Magic someday, and even more well-known that he could never make it, being a squirming, self-conscious, nervous little boy hiding in an older teenager's body.

Fudge blushed.

"Now, now, children. Get on with it, page 91 of your Potion Handbooks. Please."

Lily scowled one last time at her partner, before opening page 91.

**_Dreamless Sleep Potion: _**

_Ingredients:_

_1 Litre of water, 12x Ground hedgehog spikes, 1 Spoonful of blue-moon essence, 1 ounce x spittle of a Thestral, and 1 hair from the patients head._

**_10 Steps:_**

_1. Pour your jug of water into the pot._

_2. Heat the pot using charm: Incendio._

_3. Keep charm burning for three minutes._

_4. Add in all of Thestral spittle._

_5. Stir gently._

_6. Leave for two minutes to simmer._

_7. Ground then add in 6 hedgehog spikes and repeat steps 5 and 6._

_8. Add in string of hair._

_9. Empty last of the hedgehog spikes in, and repeat steps 5 and 6._

_10. If necessary, pour 1 spoonful of blue moon essence in for a less ghastly taste. Strain first.  
_

**_Warnings:_**

_Mistakes may lead the consumer to; insanity, depression, shock, ELECTRICAL shock, illnesses, and in extreme cases, death._

_**Enjoy!**_

So on that happy note, Lily set to work with the potion, allowing James to ground the hedgehog spikes.

_When you have an annoying childish boy working with you, give him something heavy, hard and dangerous, like the rough stone club Slughorn geniusly provided us children with_!

Smart, professor, smart.

"Er, Lily?" He said nervously.

_Aw, he's almost cute when he's scared stiff of me! Wait, no thinking like that, Lily. Bad Lily, bad!_

"Yes," she said impatiently, carefully stirring in the Thestral spittle into the potion. The last warning kept coming back to her, "And in extreme cases, death. Enjoy!"

Seriously, it was way too cheery at the end.

"Well, um, I'm kinda finished." He told her, holding out to spike's dust.

"Okay, put those in," she said, and he obeyed. "You can strain the-"

"No," he interrupted. "I'm finished that-"

She began irritably, "then-" before stopping, realizing there was nothing left to order him to do.

"We need a hair." He informed her wisely.

"Whose?" She asked.

He shrugged. "My hairs a little dirty so..." He trailed of, leaving purpose in his words.

"Oh, fine." She grumbled. Cautiously, she pulled a single string of her hair, and pulled. Hard.

She cringed lightly, and took the newly picked hair sample and placed it in the palm of her hand.

"Could you stir the potion for a moment?" She asked, James nodded.

_I think I like non-aggravating James._

So, turning around, she said: "Psst."

Marlene, who was in the seat behind her, looked up and smiled. "He being stupid?" She mouthed, pointing to James.

Lily faked a look of utter surprise. "No, I don't think it could be him! Someone must be under a Polyjuice potion!" She mouthed back.

Marlene giggled softly.

For those who have no clue what I'm going on about, a Polyjuice potion is a potion that takes one month to brew, is mud-like and tastes gruesome, and turns the drinker into the person whose hair you put into it. Like shape-shifting, except it tastes bad. Like, really bad.

In the great words of Cornelius Fudge: Ew, yuck!

* * *

"Do you think they're still alive?" Asked Mary.

Debbie wondered about this herself. "I dunno. I'd say being tortured, but not dead."

Mary smiled, concern shined through her eyes, though. Then her smile reached her blue eyes. "I bet James will do something at least somewhat sweet."

Debbie looked at her, then waved her hand in front of Mary's freckled face. "Who are you and what have you done with Mary?"

* * *

"Hey Lily," James said. "Do you need some help?"

* * *

Xenophilius Lovegood shuddered.

"What's wrong?" Asked his friend, Arthur.

"I feel..." he shook his head.

"No, tell me!" Demanded Arthur.

"Well, I feel like... something happened."

"Something happened? Like, doesn't that happen every day?"

"No," disagreed Lovegood. "Something very odd... like, like-"

"James Potter making Lily Evans blush?" Said Molly from the kitchen.

The engaged couple laughed, while Lovegood just sighed. "Yes," he murmured. "Something _exactly_ like that."

* * *

Lily was trying to rub out a green stain in her robes. "I'm fine." She insisted.

James narrowed his eyes. "Lily," he said warningly.

Lily blushed an apple-colored red. "Oh, fine."

He pointed his wand at her cloak. "Scourgify." Lily watched, somewhat embarrassed abut not thinking of using a spell herself, as the green blob dissolved into nothingness.

There was an awkward silence.

"Er, thanks?" She offered politely.

He smiled, a sight that made her blush some more.

_Good Merlin, Lily._ She thought to herself. _Are you going blooming insane?_

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Students, your homework is simple. Since I cannot properly grade you on your potions, since dreamless sleep potions vary in color, you shall test it yourself. Slug Club members, tonight's party is on at 9:15. Now, you can leave. Have a good day!" Said the old professor, waving merrily.

"Bye," she said to Potter. He started to say something, but Marlene dragged Lily by the arm and out of the dungeons, leaving behind a bemused James Potter.

"What was that for?"

"Lily," Marlene smirked. "The dungeons are no place for PDA."

Lily blinked. "Oh, oh Marlene! You sick, sick person!" She said, stomping ahead as Marlene walked behind, laughing her head off.

_Boom!_

Lily stumbled backwards, into Marlene, and the two collapsed on the ground. Lily glanced up at the person who had crashed into her, and noted that she had also fallen atop the tough ground.

"Ow," whined the girl, setting herself up into a sitting position. Then she smiled wryly. "Could we stop meeting this way, please?"

"Oh Debbie, it's you. Oh well, no need to say sorry, then." Marlene teased.

The corner of Debbie's lips twitched. "Great to see you too, Marlene, Lily."

Lily got up, dusted off her robes, and stuck out a helping hand to Debbie first, since it was her fault that she had fallen, then to Marlene.

"Come on, we'll miss Herbology!"

* * *

"Good night, Marlene."

"Good night, Debbie."

"Night, Marlene."

"Night Lily."

"Yeah, Night Lily."

"Sleep tight, Debbie."

Lily let out a deep breath, she chucked off the lid of the dreamless sleep potion, and chugged down the lilac purple substance.

Suddenly she felt dizzy, and woozily she flicked off her bedside lamp.

"Night, night."

* * *

_Happy... she felt happy.  
_

_She was hugging... hugging someone._

_It was nice..._

_The boy she was hugging pulled away, smiling joyously._

_"Lily." He said, "Lily." _

_It was just her name, but it made her feel jolly good._

_"Lily, I think..."_

_"Think what?" She enthused._

_"I... think I love you."_

_He kissed her head._

_"I like you too, James."_

Debbie, Marlene, Mary, and several other girls from the dorm heard Lily mumbling about something like Jay, and Mes.

And something about liking him back, too.

* * *

Lily was grimacing, and she looked furious as she stormed down the Great Hall, fishing in stares of wonder as she made her way over to Potter and his mates.

"Potter," she growled like a lioness. "I think we should talk." She glared at his cronies expectant looks. "_Alone_."

Sirius Black wolf-whistled, winking at his friend excitedly. "You've finally got her." He whispered loudly, causing some kids to laugh.

"And it is NOT a in broom-closet!" She yelled.

James laughed heartily. "I never said it was."

Going red, Lily began to drag him out of the Great Hall and into the greater Hallway. She could hear people throwing rumors, and frowned again.

_"Broom closet case, definitely."_

_"She's breaking up with him, I heard they've been going out in secret to spite Malorie."_

_"I bet they're sneaking out to Hogsmeade on a date."_

_"Kissing in the corner! Tee hee hee!"_

_"SHE'S MURDERED MALORIE!"_

"Why have you planted yourself in my dreams, Potter?" She spat.

"What?" He asked, genuinly confused.

She blinked. "You mean you didn't slip something in that dreamless sleep potion we made yesterday?"

"No," then the look of befuddlement morphed into one of a smirk. "You were dreaming about me?"

Oh, good Merlin, Lily thought to herself, what have I gotten myself into?

"No," he raised an eyebrow. "OK, fine, yes. The potion must have gone wrong."

"Um, hm." He grinned, hardly taking in anything but 'you're in my dreams'. "Just keep telling yourself that, flower."

"Ugh." Said Lily, stomping her foot. "Listen, it was just a mistake, I must have put in too much..."

But James ignored all of her denial, he was in a little world of his own. A world that had changed into a mini heaven, after Lily's confession.

"So," he said, in case he had misheard her. "Just to get this straight. _I_ was in _your_ dreams?"

"Yes, but-" He tuned out again.

_Oh my holy Merlin, Lily dreamed about **me**, that only used to happen in... well, in my dreams. Am I dreaming?_

_Have I died and gone to heaven?_

_No, in heaven she'd be asking ME out._

_Oh well, this is a giant step forward._

_Wow, wow, wow, James! You have a girlfriend, you're over Lily._

Then his conscience butted in, and it sounded oddly like Sirius Bl_ack. _

_Oh, shuddup, you idiot. You obviously like her!_

Lily was saying something, and probably rambling by the way her mouth kept going, over and over again.

James looked at her, wistful that she probably still didn't like him that much.

Then he did something he really shouldn't of done.

His conscience laughed at him.

_You idiot, remember about the_ outco-

His conscience was rudely disrupted as James Potter pressed his lips to Lily Evans.


	6. The Room Of Requirement

_**Don't walk away now  
And don't rip my heart out  
Don't you block me out tonight  
Honey where are you?  
And don't hate me for loving you**_

_**Don't walk away now**_  
_**And don't rip my heart out**_  
_**Don't you make cry tonight**_  
_**Like you always do**_  
_**And don't hate me for loving you**_

_**I slammed the door**_  
_**Sat on the floor**_  
_**Cried into my bed**_  
_**Said are you there?**_  
_**Do you even care?**_  
_**To cross above my head**_  
_**But someone said**_

_**Don't turn away now**_  
_**And don't rip my heart out**_  
_**Things are meant to happen like this**_  
_**I know it's right for you**_  
_**And don't hate me for loving you**_

_**I looked up at the sky**_  
_**Face to face and finally**_  
_**Eye to eye**_  
_**-Taylor Swift, don't hate me for loving you.**_

* * *

Lily Evans, you may ask, what the blooming hell were you doing after that lovely occurence- I mean ordeal?

Simple, she was in the kitchens, after she had tickled the pear that opened the doors rather roughly, she had taken a seat and ordered a hot-chocolate.

Her fingers were gripping a green spotty mug, (déjà vu, anyone?) and sniffing in the aroma of the chocolate-y goodness.

"Would Miss like anything else? Kippy is happy to serve." Kindly asked a small ugly elf, better known as a house-elf, who worked in the kitchens.

Lily sniffed miserably. "Some marshmallows would be good."

The house-elf nodded in an obeying way, disappeared, then reappeared holding a plastic bag labeled: _Yum yum's yummy marshmallows_!

"Mm," Lily said appreciatively. "Could I get some cookies with that? Please."

The house-elf smile, overjoyed to have some extra work to do.

When Kippy vanished, Lily tentatively took a sip of brilliance- I mean, hot chocolate- and let out a tranquil, content sigh. "This is-"

* * *

"How was it, mate?" Sirius Black asked. "I mean, she must have done something big to make you look so dizzy."

"Heavenly," he exhaled forlornly. "_She_ is heavenly."

* * *

"Heavenly." Lily said peacefully, taking another gulp of her drink. She dipped the cookie from the packet Kippy's friend, Hapi, had delivered into the warm drink, and took of a chunk of it in one chomp.

She sighed then, dropping her cookie onto the plate. Not that the action meant much, since a only a small chunk was left over.

"Hapi?" She called, startled as the house elf materialized in front of her. "Could you help me out," she asked. "I've heard of a place in Hogwarts: A History... called the Room Of Requirement, would you know of such a place?"

Hapi nodded his head frantically. "Yes, Hapi know that room like he does the kitchens! Hapi will show you." He decided promptly.

Lily gave a weak smiled. "Thank you, Hapi, thank you."

* * *

"The room is located on the seventh floor in the left corridor of the Hogwarts castle and has a hidden entrance opposite the tapestry showing the trying of Barnabas the Barmy to teach trolls ballet. The way to open the room is to walk past it three times thinking about what you need, and the door will appear. Hapi is certain of it." Hapi said, cocking his head in anxiousness. "Oh, yes, this opposite." He said, walking forwards, towards a large brick wall.

"Thank you, Hapi." Lily repeated.

"You are welcome," said Hapi, glowing. "Just think of what you want, and it shall appear in the form of a door, of which you must enter."

Lily thanked him again, and waved goodbye as the house-elf disapparated.

_I want somewhere comfortable, quiet and warm... just a nice place to be alone._

A large, brown, wooden door morphed into the wall, pieces created every second, until a door as large as the one joining the Great Hall to the not-so-great Hallway. Carefully, she reached out with one hand and clutched the handle, turned it, and walked into the room.

"Wow..." She started, her feet dragging her further in. She looked around in awe, taking in every fantastic tapestry and portrait, every priceless rug, couch and seat, and the amazing burning purple fire in the marble fireplace. She was about to sit down, when something hit her on the head. Scratch that some _things_ whammed her on the noggin, falling from the sky- or the ceiling, whatever suits- and Lily Evans felt herself slumping to the ground before losing conscious and falling.

**_Caboom_**!

* * *

James Potter sighed heavily, he had meant to apologize to Lily about- _that_. But her figure had gone of the marauders map (A map he and his friends had created to see where everyone in Hogwarts, and she hadn't been in the kitchens like he had earlier thought, and that is the main reason James Potter was sitting in the kitchens, nibbling a cookie from a packet someone had left in the table he was seated at.

"Hello, sir. What can Hapi do for you?"

James then had an idea, house-elves could to extraordinaire magic, and this elf could probably help him locate his Lily-Flower.

_Woah, woah, woah. Slow down genius, YOUR Lily-Flower?_Laughed his conscience mockingly.

_You've got it HARD!_

Well, his Sirius-resembling conscience was right there.

"Could you help me find a certain witch, please..."

"And which witch would this be...?" Asked the elf inquisitively.

"One with dark red hair, emerald green eyes, sorta pale face-"

"Missus Evans?" Said the elf. "Hapi helped Missus fifteen minutes ago. She wanted to find the Room Of Requirement."

James let his surprise grow. "Really? Thanks, Hapi!" He began to sprint out, when...

"Sir is welcome, would Sir like some Hot-Chocolate?"

He skidded to a halt. "Hm, yeah. Yes, two please, Hap."

Hapi beamed. "Hapi will call Kippy, Kippy is very good at making warm chocolate drink. Hapi will tell Kippy... with marshmallows?"

"With marshmallows." James confirmed.

"Kippy will make it so." Hapi said. "Because Kippy loves fluffy little cubes. He might eat some of yours, though, so be warned." Hapi whispered, like this was some secret that James could not share with anyone.

James resisted the small urge to roll his eyes. "Right. I won't tell."

"Good," said Hapi, visibly relieved. "Because Kippy isn't meant to be eating fluffy white cubes."

* * *

**_I need to find Lily, room._**

"Good Merlin," James said, astonished. The moment he had entered the Room Of Requirement, he had seen Lily on the ground, asleep. With a whole lot of Magazines labeled: _How_ _U can Deal with it, Witch Weekly's special._

They had pictures of witch celebrities on them, and when James flicked through them, he was scarred by the girly contents.

_Scared he doesn't care? Fear no more! Slip him in this little test, and he'll be enchanted to tell the truth._

_Q 1: Are you seeing anyone else?_

_Q 2: Do you truly like me?_

_Q 3: Do you l-word me?_

James blanched. Had _he_ been influencing Lily to need magazine advice?

Holy Hippogriffs.

It became apparent, when James saw most of the magazines were pretty much on top of Lily, that the room had sensed she needed romantic help- and bonked her on the head- and for this very reason, James felt himself turn cherry colored. He felt sorry for her, she had clearly been o the ground for a good few hours. The good few hours it had taken to find her. He briefly remembered checking the common room, asking her dorm-mates about her, and spending hours looking through the empty classrooms. Affectingly missing a day of classes.

He put down his drink, and uncomfortably scooped her up, brought her over to one of the many plush red couches, and set her down, laying her head on a white and red-spotted cushion. He set her hot-chocolate on top of the stool-like spindly table. Tiredly, he retrieved and raised his own drink to his mouth, sipping it blissfully.  
Feeling somewhat bored, he willed the room to conjure up some entertainment, and so it did.

A large, grey box with an antenna sticking out of it- which James recognized from muggle studies as a fellyvision- no, a television- and a large beep rang out through it.

A picture of the great halls appeared, like a movie, James remembered from the same Muggle studies lesson.

A small grimace made its way onto his face, this was no movie, it was his memory.

It was both or theirs. And with his luck, Albus Dumbledore was the narrator- the annoying voice that read out a story in the memory.

_James cocked in head in inquisitiveness- this was the one girl in the entire school who seemed to hate his guts._

_Just because he'd teased a Slytherin during the train-ride. This perplexed him greatly.  
_

_Why, he wondered, did she bother with a SLYTHERIN, when she was a GRYFFINDOR!_

_It just wasn't right._

_He watched sullenly as she giggled at something her new friend, Marlene, said, euphoria in her voice._

_He blocked out what _his_ new friend, Sirius, was blathering about, and focused on what the two girls were saying._

Dumbledore stopped speaking, and the whole of the Great Hall's noisiness was blasted at him, but Marlene and Lily's conversation was being concentrated on the most.

_"I don't know why you don't like him," Marlene laughed, obviously quite giddy. "I think he's pretty cute!"_

_Lily scoffed. "As if, he couldn't compare to a blast-ended skrewt. I've read about them and they're awfully disgusting."_

_Marlene giggled again, then gasped. "Oooo, he's looking at you."_

_James looked away, strawberry red in the face._

_"I still think he's cute," Marlene sighed dreamily, Lily seriously hoped she'd get over this infatuation she had over James Potter, it was driving her nuts! _

_"I suppose we'll just have to agree to disagree." Sighed Lily, somewhat nauseated at the thought of James Potter having admirers._Hey!

_"Hey!" James grumbled. "That girl has issues," he said to his friend, Sirius Black._

_Sirius snorted. "Just because she doesn't like you, mate, doesn't mean she's got issues. It just means she has half a brain."_

_"She has to be playing hard to get," James concluded, ignoring his friend's version. "I mean, who doesn't like ME?"_

_Sirius rolled his eyes. "People liek McGonnagal over there, she's glaring at you."_

_James followed his gaze. "Hmph, she's glaring at you, too, Sirius."_

_Sirius stroked his chin wonderingly. "I think she knew my uncle, Alphard. He and his mates were the absolute pranking overlords."_

_James scoffed as Lily had earlier done. "As if, I bet we could beat him and his cronies."_

_Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Really? Uncle Alphard had a record of thirteen detentions in one week."_

_James whistled. "Phew, that'll be hard to beat. But thirteen never was a lucky number, and he and his record are about to be obliterated by you and I."_

_Sirius looked thrilled at this, but still seemed skeptical. "Uncle Alphard had five blokes on his team, we should at least have four."_

_James thought for a moment. "OK," he tapped a boy with sandy hair, called Remus, who had shared their compartment along with a boy named Peter. "Oi, want to be part of our group, you and Pete?"_

_Remus considered this, secretly worrying about his 'furry little problem' , but instead of backing down, he chose to stick it out. His mum HAD said to be social. "OK." He agreed readily, if only a bit nervously. "Peter, are you in?"_

_"Yes, yes, yes!" Peter said eagerly, nearly falling out of his chair, he in acceleration._

_"Good, problem solved." He told Sirius._

_Sirius's lips flickered, like he was inwardly fighting the urge to grin. Which he was. "Great, any ideas?"_

_By the end of that one day, the boys had earned themselves a whole week of detentions for turning all the Slytherins' red and gold, from head to toe, strictly at 9:30, from the disappointed and youngest teacher, Professor McGonnagal, who was tired of losing to Professor Slughorn, and despised taking points from her own house._

_But she wasn't the only disapproving person, James had to flinch under the fuming, wrathful and resenting stare of the one and only Lily Evans._

_"You... you... IDIOT." She said ferociously. "We haven't even started class and now we're down fifty points- thanks to you!" The head of house walked by, and Lily bit down another vexed insult. "Next time, at least **try** and make sure we don't lose anything because of four stupid students." She requested, gall in her pretty voice.  
_

_James watched in awe as she walked away._

_Woah, he thought, no girl has ever told me off, except McGonnagal, but she doesn't really count._

_And that's when James Potter particular interest in Lily Evans was formed._

"I remember that," a groggy voice, identical to a certain red haired girl from the television memory, said from behind him. "Sev turned you and the others green and silver for the day."

James turned to see that Lily had arose. "So it was him that I must curse tomorrow." James smiled wryly. "Note to self: there is a reason I learned the beard growing hex."

Lily giggled softly, and James thought it sounded much nicer then Malorie's loud guffaw. "I'm sorry for running."

"I'm sorry for doing it." James countered swiftly.

"You stole my first kiss," she said.

"I don't regret it." He answered. "But I cannot have the glory of saying that you were mine."

Lily roleld her green eyes. "I'd have a heart attack if I heard that I was."

James grinned. "I got you hot-choco-late." He goaded, using the levitating charm to make it float around her head.

She caught it, and brought it to her lips. "Ah, my second one today. Well, I suppose first full one, since I spilled the last one when I was nearly killed by magazines," she said, rubbing her head and glaring holes in the girly advice magazines by the door.

James chuckled. "You scared the living daylights out of me when I walked in to see you unconscious."

"Who told you I was in here?" She asked.

James made a 'Hmph' noise. "Who says I can't just like some alone time?" He teased.

Lily gave him a look.

"Oh fine, a house-elf called Happy."

"Hapi?" He nodded. "The traitor."

Lily sat up properly, and took another large gulp of her hot drink. "Mm, I do love hot-chocolate."

James lifted his mug, and tapped it against her own. "You and me both, cheers!"

"Cheers," she said after him.

He took a seat next to her, and leaned in towards her. "So, how good am I a kisser?"

Lily spat out some f her drink onto the fancy, expensive carpet, though the room speedily cleaned up the mess. "Wha- what?" She spluttered.

"You heard me."

"You, er, are... very good?" She said, almost as a question.

James laughed heartily. "I'm only mocking you, silly. But thank you."

Lily blushed. "You jerk." She said under her breath, though she didn't mean it.

"Oh Lily-flower, thou scar me so," he cried out dramatically. "Do except my apology. And, may I add, you yourself are an excellent kisser."

_The flirt._

Lily rolled her eyes again, but laughed all the same at the joke.

"Oh, James."

James froze.

"What's wrong?" She asked, a jitter in her voice, because she was fearful that she had offended him.

He slowly looked up at her. "You... you said my first name."

**_She said my first name_**.

She laughed, grateful it wasn't anything more dire. "What, surprised?"

"Very."

"Explain 'very'."

"I thought that this day would never come. Today will be thought of as a miracle forever and onwards." He said, and Lily was amazed how serious he sounded.

"Forever?" She echoed.

"Forever." He agreed.

"You know, James, you're not as bad as I thought."

"I'd say the same, Lily, but I never thought you were ever 'bad'."

She blushed again. Stop that, she told herself, he's just a boy. "Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome." He answered pleasantly.

Her eyes then went large in realization. "Wait... I was on the ground... so you must have..."

"Yes, Lily," he said in amusement. "I did carry you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Oh," she said. "I'm flattered, and all, but... may I ask: why?"

James blinked. "What?"

"I mean, why bother? You could have just as easily left me there."

"That would have been cruel." James said. "I couldn't just ignore you!"

"Yes you could." She told him truthfully.

"No I couldn't!" He said in a quibbling manner, nearly getting cross. "I c-"

"What did you say?"

"I," he swallowed loudly, before declaring determinedly: "I care, Lily, whether you like it or not. And-" Lily cut in from his ramblings, smiling widely.

"Thank you, James."

"You called me James again!" He announced, a note of satisfaction in his tone.

"Yes, I did." She gulped, perhaps in worry, or perhaps in excitement. "James, I have something to tell you."

"Yes?" He said kindly.

"I... I care for you too!" She blurted out, blinking sleep from her eyes.

"Oh, Lily!" He said, his voice showed that he was absolutely ecstatic. "That's... bloody brilliant! I feel the same way and..." he stopped when he noticed her eyes had closed and her breathing softened. "I'm not that boring, am I?" He asked, smirking.

Sleepily, he slumped over, and felt her head slip onto his lap.

_Just for a few minutes..._

"Good Night, Lily." He said, before following her and drifting into a lulling sleep.

**_A/N: How was it?_**


	7. Grindeli on Ravenclaw's day

_**I said remember this moment, in the back of my mind  
The time we stood with our shaking hands  
The crowds in stands went wild  
We were the Kings and the Queens  
And they read off our names  
The night you danced like you knew our lives  
Would never be the same  
You held your head like a hero  
On a history book page  
It was the end of a decade  
But the start of an age**_

_**Long live the walls we crashed through**_  
_**All the kingdom lights shined just for me and you**_  
_**I was screaming long live all the magic we made**_  
_**And bring on all the pretenders**_  
_**One day, we will be remembered**_

_**-Taylor Swift, Long Live.**_

* * *

Lily smiled as she opened her eyes, she had just had a lovely dream about James. She raised her head from the pillow it was resting on, and took in what was around her.

"Good gosh," she said, noting that she was not in her dorm. "It wasn't a dream!"

She then looked at her 'pillow', and noticed that James had also fallen to sleep beside her, and was snoring quietly.

"Aaa, hmm-umm-umm." Came his breathing, causing her to snort. Then an idea popped into mind, and a large bowl of roasting water appeared on the table before her. Giggling evilly, she took James' hand and placed it into the boiling waters.

"AAIIII!" He screeched like a banshee. "Yooouuuch!" He lifted his red hand to his face in horror. "Merlin have mercy!"

All the while, Lily was on the other side of the couch, shuddering to hold out the giggles, but couldn't help herself and began laughing her head off. Finally, she willed for that bowl to go, and for a ice-pack to arrive, which it did.

She handed it giddily to James, which he took gratefully. "Were you attempting murder?" He asked, once he had gotten over his astonishment.

"No, and stop being such a Drama Queen." She reprimanded.

"I should be telling you off," he told her, biting his lip as he stared at his slowly paling hand. "Not the vice versa."

"True," she said. "I wonder what time it is," a large white clock appeared over the fire-place, which she looked at for the answer. "Gosh, it's half nine... in the MORNING!" Terrified for her academic record, Lily ran, but not before taking an apple from the fruit bowl.

* * *

It was ten minutes before class would start, and Lily had gone to her favorite professor for help. She stood in the same dark potions lab that she had made the failed dreamless sleep potion.

"Please, sir. "She pleaded. "I overslept, with the stress and all."

Slughorn looked at her with pity. "Oh, Lily. I know that us professors always say to try your best- but don't _overwork_ yourself." He looked at the slip of parchment she was gripping, sighed one last time, and said: "Oh, fine. But this is a one time occasion, alright, Miss Evans?"

"Oh, yes!" She said appreciatively.

"I would expect nothing less from my star student," said the teacher, who did favorite Lily out of all his pupils. "Now, you can take your seat."

So, happy that her record was safe, Lily took her seat at the back. She picked up her quill and began fiddling it, using it like a hockey stick against a small black marble she had found under her desk. James came in ten minutes later, talking to Sirius and leaning on the back of his chair. It felt like forever until Potions Class actually did start.

"Now, today we will be focusing on the Shrinking Solution Potion, does anyone have any idea what this potion may be?"

Alice Green placed her hand up in the air, looking somewhat doubtful. Alice was horrid at Potions and hardly took part, so Professor Slughorn chose her to answer the question. "Does it make you grow?"

The teacher shook his head. "No, though the name is quite misleading. Miss Evans, do you know?"

"It causes the person to shrink for about a single week, Sir."

"Correct," said Slughorn jovially. "Can you tell me what the main ingredients are, Miss Evans?"

Lily replied that the main ingredients were; Flesh Eating Slug slime; the rare crushed Whomping Willow bark (The Whomping Willows were limited humongous willow tree which are highly violent to anyone who dared come in within a five-foot radius); three strands of fur from a kneazle (Kneazles' are large cats who have the ability to sense who's a danger to their owner, and will protect their owner against these enemies); dust of a young unicorn's horn (Unicorns shed horns like humans do teeth, and grow back adult ones); the yolk of a Hungarian Horntail dragon egg; and lastly, essence of the Acid Eating Frog hybrid, AKA, more spit. Less important accompaniments of the potion include boiling water and adding 3 diluted and non-poisonous Nightshade berry powder.

"Exactly," Slughorn said, pride in his voice. "The slime is because slugs' are so minuscule, the bark is to keep you connected to your true height, the fur will offer your body the safety for our bones to grow smaller and not break, the horn's dust will keep your heart from being squished, the yolk is for holding onto our personalities', and not allowing your soul to shrink into nothingness, like a dementor's kiss," everyone shuddered at the mention of the frightening Dementors', who devour all joy and good memories out of a person. "And then the essence of a Acid Eating Frog will destroy waste in your stomach, so that your belly doesn't explode since your food will be larger. "The less necessary parts just keep the potion from reeking too much, as the smell of the Shrinking Solution Potion is putrid and can cause fainting."

Cornelius Fudge raised his hand.

"Yes, m' boy?"

"Er, how can we assure that _we_ won't faint when we make it, Sir?"

The professor chuckled. "Gas-masks, Professor Sprout lent them to me. Muggle machines, they are, they let you breath although they cover your noses' and mouths'."

Fudge seemed to relax at this, as did many other students. "That's good." He said, voicing his thoughts.

"Very," said the Professor understandingly. "Now, you may begin."

* * *

A half-hour later Slughorn looked troubled, nobody seemed to be near to finishing their potions, and he already had the next lesson planned out. He couldn't afford to change his schedule.

"I suppose you could all take your gas-masks and potions along with you and finish them in your common room, just warn everyone about it." He concluded.

"Seriously, sir?" Asked James, guessing it wasn't very legal to practice the potion in a public area.

"Quite, Mr Potter." He confirmed. "Now, Skug-Club members, there's a meeting tomorrow night at the regular time. See you there! Oh yes, and enjoy Rowena Ravenclaw day! You had better, since it's only on every seven years! For those who don't know, this is the only class today, and a great feast will be on at six. Enjoy your free time, OH, and party games will be taking place at the quidditch pitch." The students cheered.

"Hey, James," Lily called. James perked up at the mention of his own name from her lips. "Can you please try harder with our potion this time? I know it's both our faults, but our potion failed last time we worked together."

"Alright, Lily." He said, if only a tiny bit offended.

She smiled delightedly. "Great." Before skipping off with her friend Marlene, who said something that sounded like: _"Debbie's so lucky! I mean, like seriously, all I can do is hope all of my freckles connect and make me look tanned!_

Sirius laughed. "I'm Sirius, and that was hilarious!"

"Oh ha ha." He answered dryly. "Will you ever stop using the name jokes?"

"Does it look like it," said Sirius.

"Uh~" James trailed off. "No, I suppose."

"There you go," he said brightly. "Now, come on! I have a prank planned for next week!"

And so James began listening to his friend and his evil scientist tone of voice, blithering on giving McGonnagal a Down-aging potion as soon as Remus completed it, apparently he had worked on it for two weeks.

"So what do ya think?" Sirius finished, breathlessly.

James, who only took in making Minerva McGonnagal a kid, nodded. "Yeah, sounds great. No transfiguration for a day, too."

Sirius blinked. "Oh yeah! Bonus!"

* * *

"O.M.G!" Cried Marlene. "That sounds so sweet!"

"Mm," said Debbie, her lips twisted into a smile. "That's great Lily, good luck with getting Malorie out of the way, though."

Marlene scowled. "Ugh. That girl has the brain compacity of half a Flobberworm- the tail half!" The girls laughed. Flobberworms' are brown, toothless worms who eat vegetation- much to the gamekeeper, Hagrid's, misfortune.

"You're too complimentary," Debbie told her. "She can't even compare to a worm. You know what happened in Arithmancy? We were doing this mini quiz on how numbers were used by Egyptian Wizards and Witches as secret codes, and she puts her hand in the air and says in her annoying squeaky voice: "Professor, what's twelve plus seven?" I mean, come on girl. We've been going over this since first year."

Now, if you think the girls were being to hard on Malorie, you have not met Malorie. Or anyone remotely like her, which I dearly hope you haven't, because spoiled snobs are quite unpleasant.

"And speak of the devil and she shall appear," Lily said, rolling her eyes.

"Hell-oh!" Said Malorie in her shrieking voice. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"We've gone to this school for six years, Quirk." Said Debbie, she had a particularly short-temper around Malorie Quirk, even more so then Lily.

"Oh, I didn't know," Malorie said in a most uncivil way. "I see what that says about your impressions."

"Malorie, leave them alone." Said the quiet Lindsey. "They haven't done anything to you." Lindsey was a first year, with glasses, freckles, and a shy girl through and through. (Lily remembered wondering how she had made it into Gryffindor, and immediately felt bad, this girl had just stood up to Malorie Quirk, rich snob of the century). Irma had become a good friend of hers, and Lindsey thought Malorie a thick-headed bully after what she had heard from her.

"Hmph," went Malorie. "And who are you?"

"Lindsey Tonks." She said.

"Oh, the mudblood." Malorie said cruelly.

Surprisingly, Malorie was not a idiot of a Slytherin. Nor was she a mean Ravenclaw.

Malorie Quirk, wealthy fool extraordinaire, was a Hufflepuff. Lily found this odd, since Malorie was neither kind or loyal, though suspected that the Sorting Hat couldn't find anywhere else for her, since Slytherins' are sly, Ravenclaws' are smart, and Gryffindors' are brave. Malorie Quirk had never been thought of as sly or smart of brave.

So the hat must have chosen the one house that takes, what a Slytherin may say, the extendable ones.

Lindsey Tonks and her brother Ted were muggle-born, and teased on a regular basis from the more prejudiced people.

"Oh, hush up, Quirk." Snapped Debbie, sounding very hot-headed.

"Why should I, Lovegood? How's your mad brother?"

"Zeno is fine."

"Except for the part that he's insane." Malorie pointed out wrongly. "But it must run in the family, right?"

Debbie looked like a lion about to pounce on the laughing hyena, but Lily held her back by the arm. "It's OK, Debbie. She's not worth it."

"Yeah," Marlene said. "She's just a-" Marlene said a word that a teacher heard, and gave her a detention, and a angry Malorie to deal with. Though the latter was simple, she threatened to hex her and said out loud: I'm a crazy murderer! Beware!

Lindsey giggled. "That's true."

"Thanks, Lindsey." Said Debbie. "It was very Gryffindor-y and brave to do that."

Lindsey looked quite happy with herself. "It's fine, and you're welcome." She said a quick "Goodbye" and made her own way towards the door.

"Come on, let's go and celebrate Ravenclaw day."

And the three began in the direction of the Quidditch pitch, smiling as balloons that were repeatedly changing color floated up into the air above them.

* * *

It was very, very, VERY hot outside, the sun was shining like never before, and the grass seemed awfully bright a green. So to say, it was a rather nice day. The place was thronged, and the the girls were just three out of hundreds. Hundreds, that were split into two groups. Marlene and Mary were on team G, and Debbie and Lily were on team P.

"Our first game today is: Grindeli!" There was a lot of whoops at this, and Lily turned to Debbie for information.

"Well, you know Grindelwald?"

"Yes."

"In this game it's like reliving the war, one half of the people- team G, G for Grindelwald- are helping Grindelwald, then team P- P is for peasants- are trying to hide form him. The rules are kind of like Quidditch, in the way that you have to keep playing until you've caught the snitch, and how scoring goals just add up to the eventual score- I'll get onto that later. You're able to hex people, but nothing to drastic, and- this the the goal part- they can escape, but once you catch them you can make them prisoners in your fort, ten points for each person-"

"What fort?" Lily asked, before seeing in the edge of her eye Dumbledore performing a spell. A huge fort appeared before her, along with clusters of small wooden houses the same size of houses, right on the quidditch pitch, and another fort and scattered amount of mini huts in the distance beside the lake, just outside the forbidden forest.

"Continue," she demanded.

"Here's the snitch-like bit: there are two very important players, one on each team. One is Grindelwald himself on team G, and the other is Lyra Pollen, key rebel during the war. If one of those two players are captured and imprisoned, the team that caught them wins. It gets really realistic because I heard from my dad that Dumbledore transfigures our robes into those they wore during 1939, and charms us so that we can't say any modern slang. But he doesn't force us to speak french. It once got so real, this one guy was speaking all weird and telling his best friend, who was on the opposite team as him, that he would torture the truth out of him. It sounded so true that the professors thought he was under the imperius curse!"

"Wow! That _is_ an impressive game! But technically it's just advanced hide-and-go seek!"

Debbie grinned toothily. "Any thoughts on how Marlene may treat us?"

"Well. I should hope."

"Oh goodness," cried someone. "Our robes!"

It was true, team G's robes had turned dark blue, new and luxurious, while team P's had gone grey, tattered and old.

"Deary me, what am I saying!" Yelled someone else, startled by their own words.

"I've been hexed, my fellow peasants, hexed I have been."

"My father also told me that the manner of which Sir Dumbledore charms is not always magnificent, and that our accent will have changed to somewhere in the nineteenth century, rather then in the preferred 1900s." Lily giggled.

"You sound ridiculous, my dear friend. Oh goodness, so do I!"

All of a sudden, Dumbledore's voice boomed through the grounds of Hogwarts. "The games will begin momentarily. The Lyra and Gellert of today have been chosen! Miss Lily Evans, you are Lyra Pollen!"

Lily felt someone form her own team pat her back. The loud cheering hurt her ears. She felt her eyes grow as she watched her wand change into a large blue staff.

"And Mr James Potter, you are Gellert! Good luck, but before we start, some wise words: hocus pocus, and fiddle-de-doo!"

A large horn was blown and the noise was near deafening.

"BEGIN!"

There was a few moments of simple yelling- ("_Oh my good gracious! ATTACK!_")- and then everyone started moving.

Everything was a blur, and Lily could understand how the _real_ peasants of France had felt as she stared in fear as an oncoming army began darting towards them, it was mesmerizing. Then she saw Debbie waving to her.

"Come on, m' lady, we must not tarry!" She said, her words nearly being blown away by the sudden wind.

"But of course, do hide me, Rebecca!" Debbie froze for a moment, displeased at the mention of her real name, but pushed it away as one of the charms rules.

"Follow me," she hollered.

Lily/Lyra nodded, darting towards her. Debbie started to hustle through the crowds, making it difficult for Lily to follow, which Debbie realized. She went back for her, garbbed her hand, and tugged her around the crowds.

"In this hut, m' lady!" She barked, running into a small brown wooden hut, a few feet away from the fighting.

Lily flitted in, gasping for her breath as she cuddled her knees. "Lord, what have we done for you to bestow such terror amongst our people!" She whipped around to face Debbie. "Lady Rebecca," Debbie flinched at the use of her name. "I simply _must_ help! My people are in danger! Of which kind of leader would I be if I kept them stranded?"

"But m' lady," Debbie protested. "If you fall, so does your army! We _cannot_ risk for Grindelwald to conquer us, and Master Dumbledore shall arrive," she added sourly, if a bit doubtful. "Soon."

"I shan't let my people be cut down like grape vines!" Roared Lily. "Dumbledore shall arrive- to a destroyed country!"

Debbie stared at the floor, her competitive side was soon mushed by her adventurous side.

"Well," she began, when she stopped talking. "Listen," she whispered.

"_Incendio_!" Bellowed someone from outside of their little hut.

Lily yelped as fire began eating up the walls around her, and she hooted out: "_Aguamenti_!" But it was too late, the tiny brown hut fell to ashes.

Before them stood Lucius Malfoy, who had obviously been fighting for a while now. His blazing eyes matched the color of the once burning fire, and there was a wild gleam in them. "Stupify!" He yelled, just missing Lily by a few inches.

"Stupify!" She copied, he paused, and his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Rebecca, my dear friend, bring him into the dungeons! Quickly, hop to it!"

"But m' lady, what about you?" She called back, levitating Lucius beside her.

"I'll be grand!" Lily said, understanding now why the game was so loved. It was like being pulled back in history. Just positively magical.

"But-" Debbie's reply was cut of as she was once again engaged in battle, she flicked her wand, causing Lucius's body to fly towards the dungeons at a rapid pace. He was soon followed by Malorie Quirk, who Debbie had rather enjoyed giving warts to.

Before Debbie could react, Lily sped of towards the fancy castle of Grindelwald's ground. "Lady Irma has been captured!" She answered the unasked question loudly.

Lily dangerously risked using a seventh year hex on Jean Figg. "Parabilio!" She felt quite satisfied when the girl froze mid wave in her wand, fully paralyzed. "Imprison her!" She snapped at a fist year from her team. The kid obeyed quickly, stumbling as she dragged Jean by the hand towards the dungeons, she stopped to apologize to Jean, (for what reason Lily had no idea of) and unintentionally ducked a yellow hex as she crazily tied up Jean's undone lace.

"Wingardium leviosa!" She trilled, pointing her wand at her wand at her grubby once-spotless black shoes. As she had hoped, the shoes raised into the air, along with Lily herself. Running in the air was an amazing feeling, Lily couldn't help but think, much more comfortable then being on a _broom_.

From her place in the sky, she noticed one of her team members was stupified and on the ground, "Rennervate!" She vociferated, and the boy leaped up and dreamily hexed back his attacker.

"Thank you, m' lady!" He shouted, then covered his mouth. He seemed to like his new speaking habits about as much as Lily did.

Lily continued to jump through the air, hexing and reviving people as she went. When she reached her enemies fort, she was memorized by it's magnificence.

"Good golly gosh!" She said, voicing a small quantity of her thoughts, her eyes trailing around the marble palace. It was huge, white, and gorgeous. Rose vines covered it like ribbons, and the door itself was twice the height of her.

Lily guessed it wouldn't work to just stroll in, so she hovered above it for a few minutes, occasionally ducking spells from her nemesis'.

"Lady Lyra's up there!" Screamed Marlene.

"Traitor!" Lily screamed back, though her voice held more entertainment then anything else.

"Get her!"

"No! You have got to catch me first!" She said, acting cheeky by sticking out her tongue. The game _was_ awfully exhilarating.

One boy growled, and shot more orders at his team mates.

Since they weren't concentrating, Lily dived down, tumbling through a gothic styled window. She heard shouts and guessed they had noticed her absence. She heard stomping footsteps in the hallway, and she scrambled backwards, knocking against a table, which made the rose-decorated table cloth to fall, covering her up fully.

She shut her eyes tight and hoped for the best as the creaking noise of a door opening rang in her ears. Someone came in, and Lily felt eyes on her.

"Nothing in here," she heard someone say.

"Good,

" said another person from the hallway.

Lily pulled of the cloth in time to see Mary close the door, winking slyly at her.

Lily blinked, then remembered that Mary had been on their team at first, before she disappeared onto the other side, causing people to think that she'd switched.

"Clever Lady Mary, bending the rules!" She said to herself happily, before trotting of through the door, her wand at the ready.

Ten minutes later, Lily had sent three unconscious kids towards team P's dungeon, and ran from six times as many. Her hand hurt from attempting to open so many doors.

She was at door number sixty-seven when the doorknob did not budge, she whispered "Alohomora", and smiled proudly as the lock clicked open, and the door slammed against the wall.

Two guards skidded to a corner where they saw a pony-tail of fiery red hair flip through a door.

"INTRUDER!" One clamored noisily.

The other looked at his friend and then said in a raised voice. "LYRA POLLEN SIGHTED IN THE EAST WING!"

Meanwhile, Lily was treading down yet another stage of déjà vu. She was now jogging down a deep, steep, grey and dark set of stairs, which hadn't lead to much but six rats so far. Except, it wasn't lack of electricity that made the lights go of. In fact, it was so cramped, that every breath she exhaled blew out a candle on either side of her. In the end she had to just stick it in and old her breath!

Lily/Lyra was now slowly reaching the bottom of the long, twirling staircase, and no longer needed to hold her breath.

"Irma!" She said, glowing. For Irma Pince sat behind a set of silver bars in tights shackles around her feet, and cuffs covering her hands. She was not alone, as about forty-nine of the hundred rebels were trapped up too. "Alohomora!" She said, making the cuffs and shackles open, she repeated the incantation and opened the doors. But the prisoners did not look happy and Irma showed her why.

"Lady Lyra, flee now! This is an art of treachery!"

"Pardon? Oh!" But it was too late now, Lily realized as she gulped, turning around at the pace of a snail.

"Good day, Lady Lyra. I must ask, how are you feeling at this exciting moment?"

J- I mean, Gellert Grindelwald, gave a wolf-like smile. Lily then remembered _why_ Lyra Pollen fought so hard in the rebellion.

She and Grindelwald had fallen in love, but Lyra found out it was all lies to get her on his side, and in her fury, wounded him greatly. AKA, loads of blood was spilled.

She had no hope against the fact that James would probably use this against her.

_Is Dumbledore playing matchmaker, or something?_

"My dear, long time no see?"

_I'd much rather wait longer.  
_

"I'd prefer to wait longer, sir." She informed him, as coldly as Lyra herself would have done.

He laughed, and Lily guessed after all those pranks he was quite a good actor. "Shall we?" He asked, drawing his wand, which had been transfigured into a look alike of the famous Elder Wand.

Lily followed his actions, drawing her blue staff-like wand. "But of course, Gellert."

People were gathering around, and none tried to interfere. It wasn't their fight, and they knew that.

"For old times' sake, my dear," James told her. "I shall go simple on you."

She snarled at this. "You'll be down before you can try, Gellert!"

He chuckled. "Ah, nous sommes une fois de plus. Regardez bien, mon ami."

She translated this as: Ah, here we are once again. Good look, my friend.

She growled back another insult, meaning in English: Still as thick as ever, Gelert. "Toujours aussi stupide que jamais, Gelert."

He laughed again. "You still love me, dear."

Lily chose to act as Lyra herself would if told this. "Imbécile, prepare to die!"

And then she attacked.

**It is long today, guys! Whaddya think? Review, review, REVIEW! PS. Grindeli is a completely made up game by yours truly.**


	8. Shrinking solution

_**So how can I ever try to be better?  
Nobody ever lets me in  
I can still see you, this ain't the best view  
On the outside looking in  
I've been a lot of lonely places  
I've never been on the outside**_

_**You saw me there, but never knew**_  
_**I would give it all up to be**_  
_**A part of this, a part of you**_  
_**And now it's all too late so you see**_  
_**You could've helped if you had wanted to**_  
_**But no one notices until it's too**_  
_**Late to do anything**_

_**So how can I ever try to be better?**_  
_**Nobody ever lets me in**_  
_**I can still see you, this ain't the best view**_  
_**On the outside looking in**_  
_**I've been a lot of lonely places**_  
_**I've never been on the outside**_

_(UNTIL NOW.)_

**_Taylor Swift, Outside._**

"STUPEFY!"

"FLIPENDO!"

A beam of red light met the ray of blue, and exploded. The people viewing were thrown back by the force, but James and Lily held their stance.

Lily grit her teeth, holding her wand. The power coming from the two had created a large, strong wind that blew Lily's flaming red hair into her face. It was more dramatic then she'd expected a game's ending to be.

"Tarantallegra!" She almost laughed. That incantation caused the victim to dance.

"Protego!" James said, and the invisible magical barrier blocked out her spell. "Locomotor Mortis!"

"Protego!" She smiled smugly as her own barrier appeared. The watching wizards and witches seemed hungry for real blood, and Lily was afraid she may be able to provide them with it if she failed even once during this duel.

"Petrificus Totalus!" She said, hexing him. His body stiffened, and he collapsed, his body as stiff as a board.

"FINITE INCANTUM!" Yelled out someone from the vast crowd, annoyingly awaking the snoozing Potter.

He jumped to his feet, grinning maliciously. "Rictusempra!"

Lily suddenly thought something awfully stupid: Isn't this funny, I mean, I'm the smart one and I'm hit. Ha. Ha ha. Suddenly, she realized her barrier's half wasn't working. She managed to regain power over her actions, and decided to play along with it.

She burst out in uncontrollable laughter, falling to her knees. "Ah, Gellert," she cried out between giggles. "Remember the times we had?!"

Gellert/James paused mid-step, confused by what she had said. "Pardon me, m' lady?"

Lyra/Lily sighed sadly, stopping her laughter for a moment. "You really didn't care. I loved you," she said in a melancholic tone. "How could you," she fake-sobbed, cuddling her head in her knees.

James took a wary step towards her. "I am sorry."

"I am too." She looked up, and he gasped at her tearless green eyes. "Impedimenta!"

He toppled backwards, looking shocked as ropes appeared and bound him tightly, twirling around him, effectively encasing him within the ropes.

She stood up, and brushed off imaginary dust from her robes, and glanced back at her team. "Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked, a certain sharpness in her voice that matched only the nearly incomparable Professor McGonnagal. "Trap them!"

She turned to the newly freed prisoners, Irma included, and told them to wait outside in case of, as she put it, "Any little surprises".

"Do not tarry, now!" She demanded, smiling as only a superior can. "I shall take Gellert myself, we have a lot of catching up to do," she looked at James disapprovingly. "Now, don't we?"

He stared at her, clearly frightened. "Um, hm, rm." He tried to plead for mercy, though the gag she'd grabbed from the air a few moments earlier stopped him.

"Oh, do hush up, Gelert." She told him strictly, marching through team P's grounds proudly. She tapped a particular stone, and a door opened, leading into the darkness. It was one of team P's many entrances to the dungeons. "You're going to be imprisoned, now does not that sound fun!" She beamed toothily. "The voice-charm is wearing off, old friend. I do doubt that 'fun' was a regularly used word back in the days."

He raised an eyebrow, then his foot slipped, and he very nearly tripped down one of the small stairs.

"Yes, well. Hmmph." She watched him do some random things, a mix between pointing and grunting. "Oh, you want me to un-gag you?" He nodded fervently. "Well, too bad for you. I have better things to do." She told him conversationally, dragging him down yet another dimly lit set of stairs. "Like trap you in that nice, pretty dungeon down there."

He stared in disgust at the murky spot that awaited him.

"Once we tie you up, we'll win." She continued talkatively. "And then you'll be very cross and blame me. But I can live. I think the charm is lifted, oo, give me a second. 'Darn'. Yep, it's gone." She waved her staff and shackled flew over to them, clipping themselves onto his feet. They were followed by hand-cuffs, with attached themselves to his now grubby hands.

"**CONGRAGULATIONS, MISS LYRA SLASH LILY! YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY LEAD YOUR TEAM TO VICTORY! FIFTY POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR! WELL DONE, AND ENJOY THE REST OF ROWENA RAVENCLAW DAY. WE WILL BE SEEING YOU AND YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS AT THE GREAT HALL IN AN HOUR! IN THE SPARE TIME YOU HAVE, FEEL FREE TO HELP YOURSELVES TO THE SWEET-STALLS SET UP AROUND THE PITCH. THANK YOU FOR LISTENING. This add was brought to you by Hogwarts, and sponsored by Honeydukes. Thanks again, and have fun- the R.R.D group.**"

And with that announcement, pupils of all ages swarmed the sweet stalls that had been set up. And one by one, all the forts and wooden huts' vanished, turning into a silvery green mist that turned into dark blue strands of ribbon that wrapped themselves around the castle that is Hogwarts' walls. Suddenly, tiny pellets of water plopped eavh of them on the head.

To everyone's disappointment, it had begun to rain, but Dumbledore only smiled. He muttered something inaudible, and everyone grinned.

The rain-drops were turning into a brilliant blue confetti.

* * *

"Happy Rawenclaw's day, students. Hurrah, hurrah!" Dumbledore said with his eyes a twinkle, smiling down at all the seated students who were gleefully awaiting their feast.

"Hurrah, hurrah!" Repeated the pupils.

Dumbledore sat up and walked over to the stool the sorting hat regularly sat on, and placed on the sorting hat itself, to everyone's surprise. Then, the sorting hat began to sing in a deep voice:

_"Rowena Ravenclaw,_

_The queen of wisdom she be,_

_with instincts sharp and knowledge deep,_

_her cleverness as vast as the sea._

_Rowena Ravenclaw,_

_what secrets her name holds?_

_Did you know she herself,_

_was stubborn and bold?_

_Rowena Ravenclaw,_

_her lucky number was seven,_

_and she truly disliked,_

_the number eleven._

_Everyone judges,_

_and everyone thinks that they've seen._

_Yet nobody really knows,_

_who Rowena Ravenclaw once had been."_

The hat sang no more, but Lily was nearly certain it blushed as all the children and teachers applauded. Debbie, who along with Marlene was beside her, nudged her.

"That was great, I'd like to know more about her after that!"

"Really, because she does seem rather fascinating!" Lily enthused.

Debbie blinked. "Oh, yeah, that. But it's another seven lover! AND SHE HATES ELEVEN TOO!"

"Soul friends, I'm sure." Lily giggled.

She heard Sirius Black saying arrogantly to his friends, "ha, we all know who Rowena was... a right know-it-all!"

Lily banged her goblet against the table loudly. All eyes flipped over off of Sirius and onto her. "Look, Black," she said, greatly resembling an angry tiger growling. "Just because someone is a whole blooming lot smarter then you, doesn't mean you have to be jealous."

Sirius laughed like the conversation's base was hilarious, though an angry blaze was in his grey eyes. "_Jealous_? As if. I bet nobody even liked her."

Lily found this terribly disrespectful. "Good Merlin, I'm surprised anyone even likes _you_. Judging someone you've never even met!"

Sirius eyed her, his brow furrowing. "You seem to know an awful lot about her, Evans. Empathy, is it?"

"Are you calling me a know-it-all?" Lily said accusingly, flinching as her own voice went oddly high.

Sirius gave her a skeptical look. "Perhaps not, know-it-all people usually can understand English."

"You.. you... you..." Lily felt a lot like Petunia had during their fight a week earlier. She already knew what Sirius was going to say.

"Amazing, beautiful, smart, kind angel?" He finished with an innocent look.

Lily forced a guffaw. "_You_? _Amazing, beautiful, smart_?" She watched him incredulously. "Honestly, I wouldn't even call you nice."

Sirius ignored her and turned back to James. "I told you it was hard to get it as a 'nice guy' in her books. But did you listen? No."

"_Cultivate Abeo!_" She pointed her wand at him, remembering Severus Snape cursing James and Sirius in a similar way.

Sirius was in the middle of a very deep conversation with his friends, using hand motions and making describing noises. "MERLIN'S UNDERPANTS!" He cried out, horrified. His face to his chest had turned silver, and his robes, and lower body had turned serpent green.

"_What have you done, woman_?" He said, outraged. He threw a rogue hex at her, turning her bright red. Literally.

"What have _you_ done?" She threw at him, equally astounded. "Finite incantum." She said clearly, pointing her wand at herself and redeeming herself back to her normal colors.

"Change me back, too."

"No."

He pouted like a puppy, which does NOT suit with the sarcastic jerk persona.

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

"Pretty, witty, icky please?"

"NO! Hush up-"

"Mr Black!" McGonnagal called out, she had obviously heard the whole conversation. "Miss Evans." She added, her voice somewhat softer. "Ten points from Gryff-"

Lily sighed, in a terribly defeatist way, and began to set herself to leave before...

"-indor if there is anymore public arguing." The professor finished kindly.

She settled down again, relieved.

The professor went stern again. "But if I catch anyone doing something prohibited..." She let the threat hand in the air.

"Thank Merlin," Muttered Sirius Black. "Though it was all Evans' fault..."

Lily chose not to let her anger get the best of her, took a deep breath, and counted to ten.

"She has anger issues, and I _am_ Sirius."

"Hardy-har-har." Said Alice Fenira, sitting with her boyfriend Frank Longbottom, who was sitting with the marauders. "Like, honestly Black. You were implying that the house representative of the smartest house is stupid. Which insinuates simply that you yourself are stupid."

Sirius spat out some of the potato mash he had been chewing. "Wait, _what_?"

"Avertos, Leventus, 'Smart Alice'," Lily charmed the Gryffindor banner to change and read: Smart Alice.

People giggled, and Alice herself look up curiously to the ceiling, and laughed. She gave a thumbs up to Lily, which Lily returned, watching as Alice began chuckling pleasantly.

"Black doesn't mean it, he's a little thick-headed." She mouthed.

Lily nodded knowingly. "I know," she mouthed back.

Alice let out another bark of laughter, and turned to chat some more to Frank.

Lily smiled again, before swinging back to face her own friends.

"Alice is of the good sort," Debbie said. "Frank too."

"Hm." Marlene said. "I'm positive that they're perfect for each other."

"OH. OH NO!" Debbie suddenly screeched, covering her eyes and falling theatricality. "MY EYES! MY EYES! THEY'RE BURNING!"

Lily looked over to Black's table, and followed Debbie.

"AIIEEE! I'M GOING BLLLLIIIIINNNNDDDDDD!" She howled in faux pain. "MARLENE, DON'T LOOK!"

"IT'S TOO LATE! AHHHHHH!" Marlene copied, only just stopping a rogue giggle from escaping her.

All of the Great Hall's occupants glanced over to Sirius Black's table, and yelled out their own 'ew' s.

James Potter and icky Malorie Quirk were smooching in front of everyone.

"THAT'S SICK, POTTER. EVEN FOR YOU!" Sev said loudly enough for the two to hear. Lily threw him a beam.

They broke apart, Malorie looking all dopey, while James seemed uneasy with all the attention. His eyes wandered over to Lily, and he bit his lip.

He said some to Quirk, and she gave some sort of chirpy reply.

Weird, right?

"Creep." Marlene said to me. "Snape's right, that's just sick."

Lily nodded. "Gross."

"DISGUSTING!" Debbie emphasized the word so that it could be carried over to James and Malorie.

James had the decency to look bad.

"Good work," said Marlene, holding in a girly giggle. Why do people giggle so much these days?

"Yeah." Lily said distractedly. "Do you guys want to help me out with my charms homework?" She winked. "The spell we're practicing is ventriloquism."

"What?" Marlene and Debbie asked in unison. "Oh..."

Mwa ha ha ha!

* * *

_"Sometimes you think you'll be fine by yourself  
Cause a dream is a wish that you make all alone  
It's easy to feel like you don't need help  
But it's harder to walk on your own_

_You'll change inside_  
_When you realize_

_The world comes to life_  
_And everything's bright_  
_From beginning to end_  
_When you have a friend_  
_By your side_  
_That helps you to find_  
_The beauty you are_  
_When you open your heart_  
_And believe in_  
_The gift of a friend_  
_The gift of a friend_

_Someone who knows when you're lost and you're scared_  
_There through the highs and the lows_  
_Someone to count on, someone who cares_  
_Beside you wherever you go_

_You'll change inside_  
_When you realize_

_The world comes to life_  
_And everything's bright_  
_From beginning to end_  
_When you have a friend_  
_By your side_  
_That helps you to find_  
_The beauty you are_  
_When you open your heart_  
_And believe in_  
_The gift of a friend_

_When your hope crashes down_  
_Shattering to the ground_  
_You, you feel all alone_  
_When you don't know which way to go_  
_There's no signs leading you home_  
_You're not alone_

_The world comes to life_  
_And everything's bright_  
_From beginning to end_  
_When you have a friend_  
_By your side_  
_That helps you to find_  
_The beauty you are_  
_When you open your heart_  
_And believe in_  
_When you believe in_  
_When you believe in_  
_The gift of a friend"_

Malorie Quirk ended the shrill-voiced song, jumped off of the teacher's table, and glared at Lily and her friends her were silently laughing their heads off. At least they weren't _that_ noisy, the other other students were much ruder.

"Miss Quirk," Professor McGonagall exclaimed. "Never in my whole teaching career... Detention every night for the next month!"

"But-" Malorie whined.

"No buts. Five points from Gryffindor."

Was it just Lily's imagination, or did the teacher just flash her a smile. One that read: "I've been waiting for an excuse to give that girl a taste of her own medicine for _years_!"

Nope, it was real.

"Wow, I didn't think it would work so well!" Debbie said in awe.

"Me neither." Marlene told us. "But that was _really_ funny!"

"I didn't know she was _that_ bad a singer!"

"Serves her right!"

Lily watched, smirking like a certain Ja and Mes boy a bit, as Malorie stomped out of the hall, shrieking obscenities.

Ja and Mes, on the other hand, looked humiliated.

HALLELUJAH!

* * *

"We need revenge, this time." Sirius told James as he paced up and down the boys dorm.

"I'm not going to be part of it." James said strictly.

"But she made you look like a love-sick puppy, and _me_ an idiot!"

"You are an idiot." James murmured.

"Yes and we need revenge." Sirius said, ignoring the insult. "I know exactly what to do and-"

"No, Padfoot." James said sternly.

"Yes, Prongs."

"No, Padfoot."

_"Yes, Prongs."_

_"No, Padfoot."_

_"Yes, Prongs."_

_"No, Padfoot."_

_"Yes, Prongs._"

"NO!" James said insistently.

"What's up with you and Evans, it's almost like you..." Sirius had a look on his face like he had eaten something nasty. "You like her, again, don't you?"

James looked down. "I do. And I'll meet you again for the McGonagall trick." And so he left the room.

* * *

"... did you see the look on her face? Priceless!"

"I almost weed in my pants I laughed so hard."

"She's such a brat, it was coming for her since the start!"

"Best day of my life! First Grindeli, then sweet stalls and celebrations, then an AMAZING FEAST, and then this! Today was FANTASTIC!"

"Never seen Potter so red-faced!"

"God, can't he take a hint? Malorie Quirk is a complete... _idiot_."

"It wasn't a fair trick, but I do suppose she deserved it. Everyone knows Lames will conquer."

"Yeah! Lily and James are a match made in heaven!"

"I want an invite to the wedding!" Sang Narcissa Black, skipping by while dragging an unwilling Lucius Malfoy behind her.

Lily felt herself heat up like an apple. "Are not. He doesn't even like me."

"Keep telling yourself that, mudblood." Hissed a begrudging Lucius.

"I will."

Debbie and Marlene then managed to tug her to the front of the crowd, and they ran up the near-empty staircase on the way to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Gosh, couldn't they spread their gossip less close to you?"

"Yeah." Marlene said. "But Lames still lives on."

"Definitely."

Lily cleared her throat, purpose in her action. "I'd rather just go to sleep right now, love can wait."

Debbie then squealed.

"What?" Lily asked.

"That's exactly what Lyra Pollen said after the real feast in 1939! People were sending her pitiful apologies because she'd 'lost her love', and she snapped at them right what you just said!"

"Oh, I guess Dumbledore had to picked me for a reason." Lily said, surprised.

"I guess." Repeated Debbie. "Oh, God, we almost passed the fat lady!" She said, back-tracking a few steps.

Lily walked in first, and stood patiently waiting for her friends.

Debbie tried to go in, but was blocked by an invisible shield, but Lily didn't know that, and called for her to hurry up.

Debbie suddenly realized what was happening, and banged her clenched taut fists against the barrier. "Lily! Get out, quick! It's a prank-trap!"

"What?" Lily asked, and was shocked by her own now squeaky voice. "What ee happy-ning to mee?"

She spun around, and noted that the big black lounge chair looked... well, _bigger_.

Then she spotted a cauldron sitting on the table, and cried out when she remembered it's contents.

It was the shrinking solution.

**I haven't updated for two reasons.**

**1. I just started at a new school.**

**2. I got no reviews for an extra long chapter!**

**Like, wha?**

**REVIEW THIS TIME! OR NO UPDATES FOR A MONTH!**

**(Kidding, kidding...)**


	9. Oh, I remember you! You're a jerk!

_**Before I fall too fast**_  
_**Kiss me quick but make it last**_  
_**So I can see how badly this will hurt me when you say goodbye**_

_**Keep it sweet, keep it slow**_  
_**Let the future pass and don't let go**_  
_**But tonight I could fall too soon into this beautiful moonlight**_

_**But you're so hypnotizing**_  
_**You've got me laughing while I sing**_  
_**You've got me smiling in my sleep**_  
_**And I can see this unraveling**_  
_**Your love is where I'm falling**_  
_**But please don't catch me...**_

_**See this heart won't settle down**_  
_**Like a child running scared from a clown**_  
_**I'm terrified of what you do**_  
_**My stomach screams just when I look at you**_

_**Run far away so I can breathe**_  
_**Even though you're far from suffocating me**_  
_**I can't set my hopes too high**_  
_**'Cause every "Hello" ends with a "Goodbye"**_

_**But you're so hypnotizing**_  
_**You've got me laughing while I sing**_  
_**You've got me smiling in my sleep**_  
_**And I can see this unraveling**_  
_**Your love is where I'm falling**_  
_**But please don't catch me...**_

_**So now you see why I'm scared**_  
_**I can't open up my heart without a care**_  
_**But here I go, It's what I feel**_  
_**And for the first time in my life I know it's real**_

_**But you're so hypnotizing**_  
_**You've got me laughing while I sing**_  
_**You've got me smiling in my sleep**_  
_**And I can see this unraveling**_  
_**Your love is where I'm falling**_  
_**So please don't catch me**_

_**If this is love please don't break me**_  
_**I'm giving up**_

_** so **_

_**just**_

_**catch me. **_

_**-Demi Lovato, catch me.**_

* * *

Lily had always been short, and it had never been too flattering. But looking back on it, Lily guessed she'd taken her 5" height for granted. Being as tall as a muggle child's toy Lego-man can do this to a person. She couldn't even try to reverse the potion because her wand was so much bigger then her since she'd dropped it.

Lily's first act as a wingless fairy was yelling obscenities at Sirius Black.

"BLACK!" She said angrily. "YOU BLOODY IDIOT!"

"Oh, Merlin." Black seemed surprised. "I didn't think it would actually work..." He said guiltily.

At that moment Debbie burst through the door. The magical boundary cracked and green/red dust blew everywhere, and as it did this a loud CRACK came out, because some loose magic must have escaped.

The noise stirred Mary MacDonald's cat, Twinkle, from her small little brown cat basket.

"Mrow," hissed the sleepy grey cat, opening a single grass-green eye. It traveled over in Lily's direction, and fixed on her. The other eye flickered open and the cat opened her mouth ferociously, a menacing, toothy grin plastered on her fuzzy face.

Lily felt sick, why did all cats hate her?

Debbie read her mind, and stared at Twinkle worriedly. "Uh oh," she said, rushing forward to stop the cat, but she was too late. Twinkle leaped forward, pushing off so hard that her brown cat basket flew off of the windowsill it was resting on. The cat started to bound towards the mini-Lily, growling in excitement.

Lily felt shock take over her body, and she remained still as the cat made its way over to her. Suddenly, adrenaline took over, and Lily bounced up in realization. This cat could eat her. Carnivorous cats are not good news. Neither is being an elf.

Terrified, she began sprinting towards the cat. Twinkle stopped running herself, confused that Lily was heading over to him. Sensing opportunity, Lily raced past him, nearing the windowsill as quickly as she could.

What she was going to do, neither her friends nor herself knew. Lily jumped onto one of Marlene's magazine piles, ignoring the fact that her small foot was sitting on Queenie Jay's overly make-up covered face. She kicked herself over another book and landed on the top of an upside-down cauldron. The cat became less dazed, and followed her, with much more agility than Lily had accomplished herself.

She climbed onto a coffee table, so exhilarated that her own ears didn't pick up her friends' calling. Accidentally, she knocked over a cup of clear blue water, and cautiously tried to make her way to the end of the table without slipping. Then, without warning, Twinkle swiftly sprang onto the table, just a few steps behind her.

She, frightened by this abrupt encounter, found herself clambering up onto the Gryffindor-red sofas. She struggled to pull her body weight onto it, although she weighed less then a doll, her arms were still only so strong.

She stumbled a little, and it was difficult to regain herself. She wobbled as she tried to stand up straighter, and noticed a loose piece of parchment. Desperately, she picked it up and began to shake it in the hope to scare the cat away, but all Twinkle did was swipe it playfully.

"HELP!" Lily said in an incredibly squeaky voice. But her cries were too quiet, and her friends had rushed off to get Headmaster Dumbledore- albeit Sirius went without choice, thanks to Debbie.

"Lily!" Someone had heard her! HALLELUJAH!

"Marlene!" Lily felt relief smack her across the face. "Thank Merlin, can you-" Lily was cut of as Twinkle gave up on the slip of parchment, and began to approach her. "Eek!" Lily squealed, taking a nervous step backwards.

"Lily, don't worry, I'll-" Marlene forthwith saw Twinkle getting closer to Lily. "I'm coming!" She said, grabbing the Daily Prophet and rolling it. She bared it in an intimidating manner.

Twinkle was either stupid or brave, and didn't even spare Marlene and her weapon a glance, instead she kept on advancing on Lily.

She took yet another step backwards. She was against the elbow-rest, and decided to climb onto it. She mounted it, putting one- her left- foot into the elbow-rest, where it sank in, and then she did the same with her right foot, until she had reached the peak.

Twinkle didn't seem to find this at all challenging, she just continued to swagger over confidently, her tongue lolling out of her mouth like a dog chasing a duck.

"Marlene!"

"I'm trying!" Marlene said frustratedly, swatting at the grey ball of fur without mercy.

The cat did not react whatsoever.

"Grr," came the low growl from the cat's throat. It must be getting angry, Lily thought.

Lily escalated further up, clinging onto the windowsill with her two hands. She used all of her power to drag herself onto the creamy ledge. The window was opened in a threatening way to midget Lily.

"Grr..." Twinkle was getting too close for comfort, and Marlene's newspaper was between his teeth.

Lily glimpsed at the window, it was too dangerous though, she _could not_ risk it.

Lily gasped as Twinkle pounced, flying onto the windowsill beside her. Lily screamed, tumbled backwards...

_And fell down from the top floor window_...

* * *

James was siting outside, in the Hogwarts grounds, peacefully reading the prank book that Sirius had kindly lent him. It was by Sirius's favorite uncle, Archie.

He was on the chapter: _Winking hypnotism. _Now, he had had enough weird things that day, and he thought that things couldn't get stranger. He had chosen and been beaten in Grindeli, his potato had flown away during dinner, Malorie Quirk had screamed at him when he told her he didn't want to go out with her anymore, Sirius Black was being terribly quite, like he was plotting something, so James doubted much else could be as odd.

Then he saw a fairy floating down rather quickly from one of the many towers of the great building.

It was howling as it came closer and closer to the ground, waving its hands frantically, and when it saw James it's voice was nearly lost in the wind. "J-ay-ay-mes, he-he-elp!"

James blinked, red hair, pixie green eyes, pale face, really irked voice. Lily.

Her pretty face was being whipped so hard by the wind she looked like she was crying, her legs flailing out in an apathetic attempt to slow her fall, her height so short James knew that his best buddy had been involved with her shrinking.

"_HELP!_" Came the tinkling sound of her distressed voice, she seemed to be falling with such force that she was in pain.

James blinked again. What was he supposed to do?

"Use your wand, duh!" His Sirius-sounding conscience offered.

"Oh, yeah." James muttered, cursing himself wordlessly for being so silly. _"Wingardium leviosa_!"

* * *

Lily shut her eyes tight, she imagined an air attendant calling out: "Brace for impact!"

She really had to stop watching aircraft investigation. It looked like The Lily 001 was about to crash. She imagined it in the newspapers: _Hogwarts student poisoned by her own friend with a shrinking solution, attacked by Twinkle the cat, and murdered by an open window! Twinkle MacDonald - known murderer- Sirius Black -the supposed perpetrator- James Potter -a good acquaintance of Sirius Black- and Frank Longbottom -opener of the window- are all suspects going to court next Wednesday. All Hogwarts windows have been locked for further investigation.  
_

She could see the courtroom laughing, too.

Whether for the better or the worst, she could hear Frank's voice: _I promise to close the window next time._

She remembered watching a muggle documentary of a man who'd fallen off a cliff and survived because he had fainted halfway down. Because he was unconscious, his muscles relaxed and he had only slightly hurt himself after the fall. So she calmly loosened her muscles, making her instincts stop trying to tense them, and calmed her breathing.

_If I am going to die, I am going to die with hope_.

* * *

James watched as she stopped and became subsided in mid-air. She was so close, he thought, I should be able to reach her. He understood that the spell was not long lasting, and that he only had mere minutes to catch her.

He leaped in the air, raised his hands high, stood on his book, all in vain. He couldn't reach her. She was up at a height three time the size of him.

"Ugh," he grunted, stretching as tall as he could.

Lily opened one eye, it seemed that she had realized that she was no more falling to her doom. She looked very relieved. "Ja-"

James cut in, if she was going down, she wasn't going down without agreeing to one thing. "Will you go out with me?" He clamored blatantly.

Lily laughed, with so much happiness you wouldn't think she was hovering around a three-story window. "Yes, yes James! I-"

But abruptly, in the middle of her sentence, Lily Evans began plunging downwards once more. But this time, James didn't have his wand prepared to recede her as she began cascading towards solid earth.

* * *

Three teens stood outside of the Hospital Wing, glaring at one another venomously. Two had gotten a little more clearheaded, the other, well...

Marlene still was looking murderous. "You did _what_?"

Sirius fidgeted a little, twiddled with his thumbs, and looked ruefully at the ground. "I- I- I didn't mean to," he murmured shamefully.

"YOU DIDN'T MEAN TO? YOU SHRUNK HER, YOU TWIT! YOU _OBVIOUSLY_ MADE THE POTION, DID YOU NOT? THAT _MUST'_VE BEEN ON PURPOSE, RIGHT?"

Debbie put a hand on Marlene's shoulder. "It's OK. Professor Slughorn made an antidote to help out with her height, she'll grow faster or something, and Madam Pomfrey said that she'll be fine, just a short term amnesia or something."

Marlene's nostrils flared. "_Amnesia_?"

"Oh, well. Short term amnesia, not the long stuff." Debbie said hurriedly.

"But _still!_" Marlene said, fuming. "All because she turned him green!"

"Mary swore that she wasn't giving Twinkle any treats tonight," Debbie said helpfully. "Not even her yucky tuna ones!"

"Who's in there with her? I mean, she can't be left all alone? That's not safe! Someone's gotta tell her who she is!"

"Oh, don't worry," Debbie said wryly. "James is with her."

* * *

"Who are you? Or, better yet, who on earth am I?" Lily asked, she cocked her head, causing red locks to soar freely. "Eek! My head is on fire!" She swatted fearfully at her own hair.

"No it's not," James explained. "That's your natural color hair. It's beautiful."

Lily almost blushed. "Again, answer my questions?"

James cracked a smile. "You are Lily, I'm James. Don't you remember, you-" The question caught in his throat and he finally got that she _couldn't_ remember. "Oh, right." He said, looking away. "Never mind."

"No, what is it?" She asked intrusively.

"No, it doesn't matter." He replied sadly. "You've forgotten Marlene and Debbie, I suppose?" He asked hopefully. At least then he wouldn't feel so useless.

"Marlene? Debbie? My friends?" Lily's eyes widened. "Oh my lord, your that twit Potter! How did you get so _tall_?" When James said nothing she continued, "I mean, we're only in fifth year! Seriously, talk about a growth spurt!"

"Fifth year?" He repeated. "Er, Lily, I don't know how to break this to you, but we're in sixth year."

"What?" Lily looked baffled, then she seemed to grasp some sort of conclusion. "You've tricked me again! You've used a disorienting charm on me! _AGAIN!_" She looked down at herslef, then at the bed. "MERLIN, you've shrunk me too! No wonder you look a bloody giant!"

"No, Lily, I swear-"

"Shut up, Potter." She snarled, and only then did it occur to James that this was the sort of contempt Lily had treated with him last year. Lily caught sight of Madam Pomfrey, and scrambled into a sitting position on her bed. "Oh, Madam Pomfrey, please may I see Marlene? Or Debbie, I don't mind."

Poppy Pomfrey's eyes softened. "Oh, well. Fine, but I'm afraid, Mr Potter, that two's a company, and three's a crowd."

James got the picture. "Okay," he turned to Lily. "I hope you remember stuff soon. Bye." He strolled towards the door, but the usual pride and arrogance in his stride was missing, and his arms drooped dejectedly to his sides.

Lily's green orbs followed him until he vanished out the door. She felt a little bad, it seemed like he really cared.

"He's gotten better at acting," she proclaimed under her breath.

"LILY!" Marlene said, caterwauling.

Lily refrained from ululating herself. "Marlene! Debbie!" Her memory faintly manged to conjure up an image of a girl with long, pale blonde hair and thoughtful grey eyes standing up for them at a professor, an unwavering expression of confidence on her face.

"Hi there," Debbie greeted, and there were small dark circles beneath her shade less grey eyes.

"Hi!" Lily exclaimed. "How could you guys let _James Potter_ in?! His tricks didn't fool me this time though!"

Marlene and Debbie shared a look.

"What?" Lily demanded. "Tell me."

"No." Said Marlene.

"Tell me."

"No." Said Debbie.

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Lily begged persistently.

"Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine! Fine!" Debbie copied, sighing. "Well..."

"James..." Marlene went on.

"Left Malorie Quirk..."

"For you..."

"And you agreed to go out with him." Completed Debbie.

"..."

"Wait for it," whispered Debbie to Marlene.

"_WHAT!?_"

* * *

Lily found herself alone three hours later. Debbie had provided her with a shrunken pen and pencil, but that was all she had other then a disgusting potion/medicine she had to drink each hour.

She picked up the pen, and started writing:

_'Tis a thin line between love and hate,_

_They told me so long ago._

_To find it was true..._

_I have never had such a hard blow..._

_.  
_

_Loathing within my soul,_

_Passion in my heart._

_Where will this all end,_

_If it has yet to start?_

_._

_He's fooled me before,_

_And I swore never to trust him again._

_But what if it's he I've fallen for,_

_Not any other men._

_._

_One chance, I shall grant him,_

_Forgiveness I bear._

_But to love him forever?_

_I do not know whether I could dare_...

* * *

_**Hello, fanfiction readers! I have not cancelled this tale, neither is it on hiatus! All is good, and secondary school is cool part from the homework :I.  
**_

_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter, Lily has gone through a LOT today!**_

_**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ !_**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ !_**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ !_**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ !_**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW **__**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ _**REVIEW**_ !


	10. Oops, I think I nearly drowned!

**_I shoulda known when I got you alone_**  
**_ That you were way too into me to know_**  
**_ This isn't love boy, this ain't even close_**  
**_ But you always think we're something that we're not_**  
**_ And now you call me every single night_**  
**_ I only answer cause I'm too polite_**  
**_ We happened once, or maybe it was twice_**  
**_ Yeah you always make it hard for me to stop_**  
**_ But you always think we're something that we're not_**

**_ Hey!_**

**_ You wanna be more than just friends_**  
**_ I can't go through this again_**  
**_ Stop trying get inside my head_**  
**_ Don't wanna do more than hookup_**  
**_ It's getting stupid cause_**  
**_ I shoulda known but I forgot_**  
**_ That you think we're something that we're not_**

**_ Hey!_**

**_ I hear you're telling every one you know_**  
**_ That I'm the one like you can't let me go_**  
**_ And you just keep on blowing up my phone_**  
**_ Cause you never seem to know when you should stop_**  
**_ Don't introduce me to any of your friends_**  
**_ Delete my number, don't call me again_**  
**_ We had some fun, but now it's gonna end_**  
**_ But you always made it hard for me to stop_**  
**_ Now you always think we're something that we're not_**

**_ Hey!_**

**_ You wanna be more than just friends_**  
**_ I can't go through this again_**  
**_ Stop trying get inside my head_**  
**_ Don't wanna do more than hookup_**  
**_ It's getting stupid cause_**  
**_ I shoulda known but I forgot_**  
**_ That you think we're something that we're not_**

**_ Hey!_**

**_ Something that we're not_**  
**_ Hey!_**  
**_ You think we're something that we're not_**  
**_ Yeah, you think we're something that we're_**

**_ Not gonna happen dude_**

**_ You wanna be more than just friends_**  
**_ I can't go through this again_**  
**_ Stop trying get inside my head_**  
**_ Don't wanna do more than hookup_**  
**_ It's getting stupid cause_**  
**_ I shoulda known but I forgot_**  
**_ That you think we're something that we're not_**

**_ Hey!_**

**_ You think we're something that we're not_**  
**_ Something that we're not_**  
**_ Something_**  
**_ You think we're something that we're not_**  
**_ But you think we're something that we're not_**

_**-Demi Lovato, something that we're not.**_

* * *

It had been six days since the accident. James could see just how lucky he was. First Sirius becomes all sad and quiet- which he had previously thought was impossible- then Lily gets short-term amnesia whatyoumicallit, and of course, Lily just _had_ to be sent home while she recovered.

And, to put the cherry on top, he was the one escorting her home.

Great, just great.

Dumbledore just seemed to love playing matchmaker.

"Now, Mr Potter." Said McGonagall. There was a hidden warning tone in her voice. "Miss Evans is in a fragile state, and if I hear about any upsetting joking..." A silent threat hung in the air.

"Of course, Professor." He said solemnly, catching the weary teacher of guard.

"I swear, Potter..." She said, taking his seriousness as a joke.

"Yes, Professor." James sighed. He stared at the small box she hand handed him. It was purple with green dots, and had three pin-shaped holes on the top. It was mini-Lily's equivalent of a train compartment.

"Stop rocking it!" Came a tiny, annoyed voice. "I'm gonna break my leg!"

That's Lily, always looking on the bright side.

"Sorry," James grumbled. Why couldn't Dumbledore make Debbie or Marlene do this impossible task? "Professor," he addressed McGonagall. "Why can't we just floo?"

"I hate to say, Mr Potter, that the dark lord has been rising faster then anyone expected. Floo is not safe for students, especially for a muggle-born and a- I'm sorry to call you this, James- in their eyes, blood traitor."

"You mean..." James hated how his voice shook like that, so much for being the macho hero saving the damsel in distress. "You-know-who attacked more muggles?"

The teacher nodded gravely. "It simply isn't safe to floo, or even to use a broom stick in muggle territory."

"Oh, fine." James said, in a rather defeatist way. "Ready Lily?" He asked the box.

"No. Please, just kill me now."

The professor laughed lightly, so quiet that James figured even if he had a recording device, it wouldn't make a difference since she hardly made a sound. "Good luck, Lily." She shot James a single last heated glare, and disappeared in the twirl of her dark purple robes.

James stared, a melancholic expression upon his tired face. Even a simple glimpse of the Hogwarts Express brought a small tear to his blue eyes. "Let's go," he declared.

"'Snot like I've got a choice." Lily admitted.

* * *

**10:30: awkward.**

* * *

**10:31: awkward.**

* * *

**10:32: awkward.**

* * *

**10:32: VERY AWKWARD!**

* * *

**10:33: ...**

"_Say something already!_" Lily blurted out. "You are never quiet! I can't even tell you to hush up! SAY SOMETHING!"

James turned to her languidly. "Hello, Lily Evans. And what a fine day this is."

Lily rolled your eyes. "Hush up." She respired, feeling much better after saying those two words. "Ah, all's back to normal."

James eyed her sluggishly. "Except for the point that you, my friend, are a midget, and a sixteen-year-old year old with the mind and memory of a fifteen-year-old girl."

"Yes, there's always that." She tossed around in her match-box room. "Why couldn't they just shrink a sofa or something?"

"Or something."

"Humph." Lily suddenly noticed the box of chocolate frogs beside her arch nemesis. "Oo, gimme!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"_PLEASE_?"

He paused for a minute. "OK."

"Oh please please please-" She perked up. "Yes?"

"Yes." He tapped his wand against the frog and said the shrinking spell. "Here."

She willingly grasped the piece of chocolate and gobbled it down in the blink of an eye. She blinked. "Why did you do that?" She asked. Then she began clawing at her tongue. "Oh Merlin, you've poisoned it, haven't you!"

"No," James said hotly.

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I did not."

"Did too!"

"You're annoying, you know that?" James asked frustratedly.

"No! YOU are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"YES YOU ARE!"

"NO I AM NOT!"

James wondered how he still had his hearing.

Lily threw him a last burning look, and turned away, huffing like a child. "Humph."

James put his palm to his face. "I've forgotten how _irritating_ you were."

"As I have you," she replied snootily. "But you've reminded me, thanks for naught."

"Not?" James' nose twitched. "Pardon?"

"Naught, dolt. N-A-U-G-H-T, naught!"

"Never heard of it."

"You just did."

"Oh, shut it."

"What?" She asked innocently. "The compartment door is shut, right?" She turned in fake curiosity to the door. "Yep, closed."

James was literally fuming now. "Girls," he muttered, giving up.

"Boys," she muttered, glowering.

* * *

"Oh, my little- er, VERY little!- Lilly Billy!" Cried out her mum. "Oh, do you still remember me?"

"Duh, mum." Said Lily teasingly, sticking her red head out of her box. "I'm not _that_ dense."

"Lilly Billy?" Mouthed James.

"Shut up," she mouthed back.

Her mum's green eyes trailed over to James. Her face broke up in a grin. "Oh, Lil! You never told me in your letters you got a boyfriend!"

"Wha- _what_?" Lily spluttered, going cherry-red, and said sharply: "As if, he's just escorting me home. That's _The nameless jerk_!" She hissed, putting great emphasis in her words.

"Pardon? Oh- _OH_."

This was not the best first impression, James thought. What, wait, he gave an inward shriek- in his head of course. Lily had told her mum about him! Probably in rather nasty descriptions, but still! Progress!

"Yes mum," said Lily, loudly and obviously. "The one we 'spoke' about," she made speech-marks with her fingers, nodding along enthusiastically. "Remember?"

The word made James and her mum wince.

"Of course, when you spoke so cruel- oh, sorry, I meant _kindly_- of him."

"Yes!" Said Lily, thankful her mother recalled her whining.

"You know," stated her mother. "As a matter of fact, you and your father hated each other at first too. He thought I was really infuriating- the feeling was mutual- but in college I fell for him."

Deja vu, part of Lily's head screamed, remember that, smarty?

Well, no.

James smirked under Lily's unmistakable discomfort. "Before Lily had her 'accident," _stupid Sirius._ "I asked her out, and she said yes."

Lily's eyes looked like they were going to pop, they were getting so gigantic.

Lily's mum's eyes were nearly as large. "Sweetie! You daft little penguin, you should'a told me!"

Lily scratched her head. "Did I like, get a mental illness in sixth year or something?"

"I always wondered," said James thoughtfully. "But all the tests I took gave a negative. You're safe, for now."

"I'm stuck with you for some time, so how am I safe?"

"Touche."

Lily's mum cooed. "I'll get you kids some lemonade, and give you some... time."

James raised an eyebrow once she'd left. "What are lemon blades? Are they like the stuff we used in Grindeli?"

"No, it's an carbonated beverage that unexceptional muggles use as a refreshment to quench their thirst."

"Er, what?" James asked.

Lily sighed- again- and said. "It's a fizzy drink that normal people use as something to make them less thirsty."

"Oh. You could've just said that, you know."

"Yeah, but that would've sounded stupid. Like you."

"Thanks. Love you too, dear."

Her mum returned to the kitchen, chuckling as she brought in a tray holding the golden jug containing the yellow liquid and cubes of ice- one was in a tiny, doll-house belonging cup. "You two bicker like an old married couple!"

"_What?_" Came one horrified voice.

"I knew it!" Came the more joyous one.

_CRACK!_

* * *

"Oi, look, Wormtail! Moony's finally gotten himself a girl!" Shoving his finger in the direction of Remus.

'Moony' shot a scowl in Sirius's direction. "It's from James, look." Sirius and Peter stuck their heads over Remus's shoulder.

"What does it say?" Asked Peter Einstein.

"Bloody hell," said Padfoot, shaking his head, causing crazy black hair to swing in all directions. "Prongs is stuck with the flower. Lightning or something."

"The smelly foot is making travel dangerous," agreed Wormtail.

"Yes, I hope the Flower's patch of dirt is nice."

"The top of the fork will probably mess things up."

"So says the rat who got trapped stealing cheese."

Remus looked at them, rolling his eyes. "And you guys say _I'm_ a dork!"

"Humph, at least we don't _do_ our own homework."

* * *

"It's nearly midnight!" Crowed Lily's mum. "Quick- the instructions say you must in water under the moon's light, get into the outdoor pond!"

Lily cringed. "But my uniform-" Correction: your TINY uniform.

"Doesn't matter! There will be no skinny-dipping in the back-yard pond!"

Lily paled in distaste. She raced over to the glass door, skidding to a halt to get her mum to pull it open, and leaped out into the cold, windy, garden.

"You! _The_ _nameless jerk_- I mean James!- go make sure she doesn't do anything stupid! I apparently _have to_ collect Petunia from her party." Demanded Lily's mum, she lay down her purple phone on the counter, disappearing out the other green door.

James, the sneaky lad he is, took a peek at the text Petunia had sent her mum, and laughed.

_Mum, u have 2 collect me from Vernon's. See you- and bring your car, not dad's. His one looks a year old! :P - Toony_.

He then sent a short, cheeky, text back. So muggle studies HAD helped him!

_Do it yourself, fool -Mummy dearest_.

He heard a clamorous wail.

"I'm coming Lily!"

* * *

Lily felt like her bones were crunching against one another, grinding and making cracking noises. She dearly hoped Sirius had made his potion correctly, even though it was rare that he ever did. She knew she wasn't midget anymore, maybe the height of a toddler, and even that was getting bigger.

She had always loved her garden as a child. It had seemed enchanting, like a fairy-tale. The brilliant hedge growing around the garden glowed the autumn orange, the lake's water glimmered under the crescent moon's rays, and small apple orchards were dropped in various places. Her mum had small night-lights around the area too, which shined brightly, the color of milk. A small (locked) gate stood sturdily, blocking and separating Mad Old Jenny Bloper- the one who throws bricks- and her garden from theirs.

Today, the moon was also graced by the presence of a billion scintillating, luminous dots. Stars.

Usually the splendid view and atmosphere would distract her, but the pain was inevitable.

As she stood in the chilly, cold, water, her shivering created circles of ripples, and her thrashing caused jets of water to shoot up like a gun-fire. She had already bee pale after her mum mentioned bathing, but now she had gone snow-white. Delicate, autumn leaves drifted down from the trees around her, and some landed on her head, nearly blending in with her red hair.

The harsh and cacophonous sound of approaching footsteps rang in her ears. She hardly noticed the noisome stomps. Her teeth clattered and shakes went up her spine.

Her eye-lids fluttered, and she fought the temptation to simply close them, to fall to sleep..

* * *

"Lily!" James ululated. The state she was in was terrifying. She was nearing her regular size, but everything else was wrong. Her face was like paper, her hair stringy and limp, her green eyes vanishing under white eye-lids.

"_Cold_," she whispered from the corner of her mouth, and James noted that her teeth was like a four-year-old. So to say, they ever stopped moving.

Her eyes finally shut, but her mouth stayed open. Water started to pool in, and-

* * *

_Deja vu!_ Screamed part of her brain, the awake bit. _Remember The Lily 001? Except this is like its boat version! Both The Lily 001 Air and The Lily 001 water had big accidents! The Lily 001 air crash landed, and now its namesake on the lake is about to sink!_

* * *

James reached out, and-

* * *

_So cold, _said the awake part of her brain, _so cold... Must, must... must sleep..._

* * *

-Grabbed her by the scruff of her dark, drenched uniform. Then he-

* * *

_Good night... slowing breath... sleep tight.._.

* * *

-Pulled, convinced he could handle her light weight. But-

* * *

_So... tired...  
_

* * *

-Her soaking uniform held water in its seams, making it increasingly more difficult to help her. There was only one choice left. He let go, jumped into the water, and-

* * *

_What?... What was that... _Suddenly, another part of Lily's brain interrupted. _Ignore it, go... to... sleep..._

_Okay_, thought Lily, exhausted. _That seems like a good plan_...

* * *

-After he plummeted into the water, his limbs started to feel like ice blocks. He flailed about, trying to find Lily under the water. Then-

* * *

_..._

* * *

-He located her. She wa writhing slightly, but otherwise still. He seized her arm and began swimming upwards...

* * *

_Gasp! Air.._.

* * *

He collapsed onto the grass. Lily bobbed, half in, half out, of the water. She was all jittery.

"Mrow!" James turned. He saw a small white cat with big blue eyes staring right at him. The cat trotted over to Lily, and gnawed at the collar of her shirt. He gave James a look, like:_ Aw,_ _come on, man. I may have a prissy name, but come on! You have to help my owner too_!

"So this is the infamous Tulip. I thought you were a girl."

If cats could roll their eyes, James could swear Tulip just did. _Shut it, two-legs. My owner hasn't said much good about you, either._

"Fine," James said. He took Lily's hands and tugged her onto land.

* * *

Lily felt her eyes flicker open. She felt somewhat disorientated, and everything looked as it did for a person who needed glasses, but didn't wear them. "Where am I? What just happened?"

"You are outside." Said someone. "You nearly drowned yourself, genius."

"Potter," she growled. Then realization struck her. "If I was in the water then..."

The voice sounded amused. "Yes, Lily. I carried you out."

The thought of James Potter being anyway near her sounded disgusting to the the sixteen-year-old-minded Lily. "You.. you.. moron!"

His proud look disintegrated. "What?" He asked in astonishment.

"How could you come anywhere ear me? We HATE each other!"

"No we don't," protested James.

"Yes we do!" Lily insisted. "I DESPISE you! Just GO AWAY!"

She immediately regretted it. The look on his face was so unhappy.. but then it morphed into an expression as cold as her garden lake.

She wondered, since in this world he was seventeen, did he have his apparition license?

Then, the rest was a large, black blue. A large cracking noise was heard, and it sounded a lot like the lightning they had heard earlier.

She supposed that answered her question.

* * *

She wished she hadn't chosen that book. The first paragraph made her feel depressed.

_Everybody wants to fall in love with Somebody. Somebody wants to fall in love with Nobody. Nobody could fall in love with Anybody._

_Nothing could go wrong. Everything could go wrong. Something could go wrong_.

She slammed the book closed and replaced it onto the brown, wooden shelf. She switched off her bedside light. Silently, she begrudgingly accepted that tonight would be a shaky, rough night.


	11. Unwanted apologies

_**Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?**_  
_**Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart,now?**_  
_**Why would you wanna make the very first scar?**_  
_**Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?**_

_**Maybe I should've seen the signs, should've read the writing on the wall.**_  
_**And realized by the distance in your eyes that I would be the one to fall.**_  
_**No matter what you say, I still can't believe**_  
_**That you would walk away.**_  
_**It don't make sense to me, but:**_

_**Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?**_  
_**Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart, now?**_  
_**Why would you wanna make the very first scar?**_  
_**Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?**_

_**It's not unbroken anymore.**_  
_**How do I get it back the way it was before?**_

_**Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?**_  
_**Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart,now?**_  
_**Why would you wanna make the very first scar?**_  
_**Why would you wanna break, would you wanna break a:**_

_**Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?**_  
_**Why would you wanna take our love and tear it all apart, now?**_  
_**Why would you wanna make the very first scar?**_  
_**Why would you wanna break a perfectly good heart?**_

_**Taylor Swift, a perfectly good heart.**_

Mudblood. Mudblood. _Mudblood_.

"Don't need the mudblood's help, eh Snape?" Murmured Lily, drawing her wand. "Avifors." She pointed her wand at Snape's wand and charmed it into a flock of mocking birds.

Snape yelped as a dozen angry, chirping, adorable baby birds squawked and attacked his face.

It took all of Lily's strength not to give out a girl coo. _Aw_!

The scrawny birds pecked and nipped him mercilessly. "Lily," he called as she began to stomp away. She stopped, but couldn't bare to turn around to face him. "Please, I didn't mean it!"

She started walking again, and she pretended to be unaware of his shouting behind her.

* * *

Five hours earlier, Lily had been in her kitchen.

"Morning," grunted her dad, poking his brown hair peaked head over his newspaper.

"Good morning honey bear!" Greeted her mum, and she topped it off with a sunny grin. "I made pancakes for your last at-home meal!"

"Yay!" Smiled Lily. She paused- dare she ask?- and said cautiously, "did you get the chocolate spread?"

She squealed when her mum nodded.

Her mum calmly emerged the drooling child, and delivered the pancakes courageously.

Lily beamed, taking a knife and dumping it into the chocolate spread, and then brushed the knife against the pancakes in anticipation. "Yum..."

She forked up two of her own and stuffed them into her awaiting mouth. When she was finished the first lot, she stole one of her dad's, and repeated the action to her mum.

"Oi!" Roared her parent's. Lily happily stabbed up another pancake and choked it down.

Then, dressed in a pink fuzzy dressing gown and bunny slippers, Petunia slammed the door open and slouched into her chair.

Lily watched her wearily, fork still in her mouth.

Petunia noticed this, and declared in disgust. "You're going to get fat."

Lily gave her an icy look. "Nobody disses the food."

Her mum laughed nervously, then hissed something inaudible in Petunia's pink ear.

Petunia didn't so much as open her mouth for the rest of breakfast.

Some time later, Lily flashed up the red staircase and threw on a pair of grey jeans, a striped red and white shirt, big fluffy snow boots, and a bright blood-red bandanna.

"Pretending to be a cowboy?" Sneered Petunia when Lily arrived into the hall.

"Pretending to be a rude, obnoxious individual? It comes naturally with you, so don't worry."

"Girls..." Threatened her mum.

The door bell went, ringing loudly, and Petunia dashed off to welcome in the guest with a charming- cough, piggish, cough- smile.

"Vernie boo!" Lily heard from the hallway. Lily emerged from the kitchen to see who it is- and hacked in revulsion.

"Dursley." Lily said.

Lily could easily compare him to a pink blotchy germ, enlarged by a microscope. Vernon Dursley was the opposite of her sister, with a small slick of overly gelled blonde hair, watery blue eyes, a fat, many layered neck, and he was as plump as three of Petunia all standing directly beside each other.

Vernon paused. His tiny, miniscule brain must have known that calling Lily 'Evans' would be offensive to Petunia.

"Whatever." He said, in that polite way that made Petunia swoon. He switched over to Petunia. "Want to go to the park later?"

Petunia shot Lily an evil look. When her eyes returned to the pig before her, that look immediately morphed into one of disappointment and sweetness. "Oh, Vernon, I wish I could with _all_ my heart," she ruthlessly dragged the 'l' in all. "But, _sadly_, I need to bring _her_," _that's not offensive at all_, thought Lily. "To school with my new car. And her friend."

Marlene was being picked up by Lily and Petunia. Despite Lily's hopes, her memory hadn't come back until Halloween break. Now, with the brain of a sixth year, she was going home to Hogwarts.

"Her name's Marlene," corrected Lily scornfully.

"Janet, whosit, whatever." Petunia said uncaringly.

Lily bit back another sarcastic comment. Instead, she sneaked back into the kitchen. She had another hour until she had to leave.

"Time to study," she said, unhappily imagining how far back she was in comparison to her classmates.

* * *

Lily covered the paragraph with the palm of her hand.

"Oh," she moaned. "Think, Lily! Who defeated Harrison Contair, ruler of Cheddar?" She snapped her fingers in realization. "Yes! I know, it was Claire Contair, his own daughter!"

Lily, victorious, helped herself to another piece of chocolate. Her rules for studying were simple: get the facts right? Eat some chocolate. Get the facts wrong? No chocolate for you.

"Lily!" Called her mum. "Time to go, pronto!"

"Coming!" She yelled back, gobbling up the last two squares of chocolate. She stuffed the book she'd been studying- _The element of Cheese, Book Two_- and sighed dramatically. "The Queen of Mozzarella must wait, I'm afraid."

* * *

_Bu-bu-buuu-BRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG!_

"Marlene!" Screamed an elderly, female voice from above Marlene's quaint cream colored room.

"WHAT?" She shouted back.

"What was that? Has Moldy Shorts attacked?"

Marlene gave out an annoyed puff of breath. "No, Gran! That was the doorbell?"

"What in the name of Merlin's manly pants is a doorbell?"

"Ugh, never mind!"

"Fine," huffed her Gran, slamming her foot down to the ground, causing Marlene's room the shake. "When Bold Warts attack, don't blame me for not being suspicious!"

Marlene snorted at the absurd idea of Lord Voldemort cackling evilly while TPing (Toilet paper-ing) their house, laughing maniacally while constantly keeping his finger on the doorbell button, and running away as they open the door.

"I don't think he'd do that, Gran."

Marlene couldn't help but think how mad her Gran was as she listened to grumbles of: _Riddle's a fool. Stupid Tom, always._..

So, unable to understand her Gran's blabbering, she trotted down the stairs and opened the door.

"Hey, Lily." She smiled.

"Hey Marlene, Petunia's driving." Said Lily, scrunching her face up in disdain.

Marlene copied the gesture. "Ich. We'll be in brison by tomorrow."

"Prison," chastised Lily.

"Yeah. That." Marlene followed Lily out onto the grass of her front yard. "How in the name of Merlin did she afford _that_?" Sitting on the road sat a purring, luxorious looking car. It was a shiny black, with white stripes along the side. Through the window Marlene could see Petunia, who was wearing what she must have thought was 'cool'. Black sunglasses rested on her pointed nose, overly done lipstick on her chapped lips, a brown leather jacket over a size-too-large white t-shirt, and a muggle lollipop in her mouth.

Lily gave the car a hateful look. "Vernon. Her b-b-"

"Boyfriend?" Offered Marlene.

Lily shuddered, and spat out, "yeah. Her b-_boyfriend_. His dad makes muggle drills."

"How fascinating." Marlene lied.

"I know, right?" Lily opened the black door, which let out a deep humming noise in response.

"Get in," Petunia ordered, removing the cola lolly and turning around to see them properly. "No mucking up my car, you got that?"

Lily wasn't impressed. "Shut it, _Petunia_."

Marlene guessed something was wrong the second Lily adressed her sister by her real name. Lily had always called Petunia 'Toony'. So maybe this Vernon guy was only shoving them further apart...

Lily faced Marlene. "She told him all about _us_."

At this, Marlene gave out a disbelieving gasp. No wonder the two were so grumpy with one another. Petunia had destroyed whatever trust Lily had ever had for her by means of betrayal.

"Hush up." Grumbled Petunia, her voice somewhat muffled by the muggle lolly in her mouth.

Lily didn't even bother to answer. She stared wistfully out the window. Marlene looked out of it to see what Lily was eying. They were passing the old playground in Gunners Avenue. There was two girls on the swings, giggling as they competed to get higher then each other.

This is like one of those muggle dramas, thought Marlene. All we need now is some stunning hero to whisk her off of her feet. She frowned. To bad it couldn't be James...

* * *

Have you ever gone to the cinema, and when the movie comes and you're the only ones there?

Well, Lily found herself alone on the train, her only comfort was Marlene and her pet mouse Jitters.

Jitters kept jittering. He squeaked at every bump, and tried to hide in every nook and cranny of the train.

Marlene seemed to find it amusing. Lily, bored, transfigured a dust bunny from under her seat into a brown mouse. So she and Marlene had a mouse race.

Cookie the mouse won all of the races, effectively skidding off of the racing track of a table a few times.

"I guess nobody went home for Halloween because of Bold Wart's- I mean the Dark Lord's- rising. Maybe Hogwarts sounded like the safest place to stay. And the cauldron cakes and amazing."

Lily couldn't help but see the logic in that. Cauldron cakes _were_ delicious.

The rest of the ride, Lily studied more on the Queen of Mozzerella.

* * *

"Hey Bella," Sirius Black said to his cousin. "Fancy seeing you here... in Hogwarts... where we both attend..."

"Black."

"Black." Ssirius paused. "It's hard to have an argument with you since we have the same surname. You should get married at somepoint. That might help."

Bellatrix wrinkled her nose. "Idiot," she said, taking Rudolphus Lestrange's sickly, pale arm. He smirked at Sirius.

"Idiot." He agreed heartily.

"Idiots." Said Sirius, shifting his feet awkwardly. James walked over to him, and Sirius said uncomfortably, "Mum said I've got to invite her over to the Black Family Dinner at Christmas." He looked at his friend pleadingly. "Please, invite me over for Christmas this year."

James laughed. "Of course. Now, let's go torture Snape."

* * *

Lily cried. Tears spurted out like water from a leaking dam. She 'accio'ed her quill, and was ready to begin scribbling in a diary entry. She sobbed even liuder when she saw the more recent entry. It was from that morning.

_7th of November, 1977._

_It's six am, mum's gonna kill me! Today I'm going home, to Pig Pimples. I need to apologize to James, and say hi to Sev, and yell at Sirius. I really hope there's some cauldron cakes left. Me and Petty Union (That's what I'm calling Petunia, now a days) are collecting Marlene and bringing her to the train station in Petty Union's new sleek car._

_I hope this day ends up as good as I know it will. :)_

_- Lily._

_PS. I'll write in more later_.

_9:20._

_Today was awful. Sev called me a mudblood. We're through. It's all Potter's fault._

_All Potter's bloody fault. I hate him. Hate hate HATE him._

_-Lily_.

She scowled unhappily. She needed a walk to clear her head.

* * *

James sat miserably on a large rock next door to Hagrid's hut. It was late. He was breaking about a hundred Hogwart rules just by being there. He gave out an irritated growl. He saw a figure with fiery red hair run quickly towards the forbidden forest. He guessed it may be Lily.

Scrunched up in his palm, although it was now illegible, rested a crumpled up apology note. 'Lily' it read, 'I'm sorry for leaving you alone. I'm even more sorry if you caught one of those muggle colds. Look, even if you don't want to go out with me, I'd like if we were friends. I missed you. I love you. -James.'

He sniffed, but a cold, taut hand flashed up to his eye. Men don't cry, he thought to himself. Then he remembered what Moony had said so many months before. "Men who _don't_ cry are emotionless idiots. When you cry, it shows that you atcually care. That's why Sirius here never crys."

A brief smile crossed his face, vanishing within moments. He brought the note up to his face, and a strong, gusty breeze blew against him. He steadied himself, but another breath of the west wind hit him hard, and the note flew out of his hand.

James scurried up, leaping into the air. His hand brushed against it, but all he caught was air.

He blinked away tears. He shouldn't care about a stupid letter, he told himself.

He watched it float up, higher and higher, until it became like one of the gleaming stars above him. Untouchable.

His stare left the stars and the disappearing note, and looked up at the moon.

All of a sudden, a pained howl echoed through the woods. James's brain put the pieces together.

It was a full moon.

Remus.

_Lily._


	12. She'll never know

_**I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us,**_  
_** How we met and the sparks flew instantly,**_  
_** People would say, "They're the lucky ones."**_  
_** I used to know my place was a spot next to you,**_  
_** Now I'm searching the room for an empty seat,**_  
_** 'Cause lately I don't even know what page you're on.**_

_** Oh, a simple complication,**_  
_** Miscommunications lead to fall-out.**_  
_** So many things that I wish you knew,**_  
_** So many walls that I can't break through.**_

_** Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,**_  
_** And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?**_  
_** I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,**_  
_** And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.**_

_** Next chapter.**_

_** Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,**_  
_** And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?**_  
_** I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,**_  
_** And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.**_

_** This is looking like a contest,**_  
_** Of who can act like they care less,**_  
_** But I liked it better when you were on my side.**_  
_** The battle's in your hands now,**_  
_** But I would lay my armor down**_  
_** If you said you'd rather love than fight.**_  
_** So many things that you wished I knew,**_  
_** But the story of us might be ending soon.**_

_** Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking,**_  
_** And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?**_  
_** I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,**_  
_** And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now, now, now.**_  
_** And we're not speaking,**_  
_** And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?**_  
_** I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate 'cause we're going down,**_  
_** And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.**_

_**Taylor Swift, the story of us.**_

* * *

Snape knocked on the portrait of the Fat Lady roughly.

"Ouch," she cried. "You insignificant fool!"

She was silenced when she swung inwards. Snape then found Mary Macdonald scowling at him.

"Oh, not you again." She complained. "Lily doesn't want to see you, kapeesh?"

Oh Merlin, thought Severus, stop reminding me.

He hadn't meant to snap at her. His mum would have stamped it as 'his manly pride'. Severus didn't have a lot of dignity, thanks to James, but he deliberately tried to keep at least a _little_ of it. He remembered how she had yelled at James to stop it, to let Severus down from his hovering status and return his trousers. He remembered snarling at her. He didn't need _her,_ she was a _mudblood_. He remembered her betrayed expression, the crumpling of her face. He remembered her cursing him, sending vile birds at him. He remembered calling after her desperately, and her rejection. He remembered thinking, _Merlin, I've lost my chance_.

He remembered coming up here a few hours ago. Mary had greeted him in a similar way that she was doing now. He remembered Lily coming to the entrance, a tired look on her. She looked terribly defeated. Like she'd expected this to happen for a long time, and hadn't wanted to believe it. He remembered how it took hours for her to agree to see him, and how he fell to sleep outside of the Fat Lady's portrait. He remembered her telling him that it was over.

He had a whole speech made up in his mind. "Lily," he would begin. "I am truly sorry. I _never_, with a sane mind, would really mean to call you that. Look, I know you don't want to talk to me. I tore up our friendship. But Lily, you know how I said I was so annoyed that my mum was making me to sow? That boys don't need to know how to knit and stuff? Well give me a chance, and I will use my mum's lessons to patch up our friendship. Please, Lily. You're the only real friend I've ever had. I swear, I'll never use that two-syllable word again. To anyone. Even if they really deserved it. Please Lily, let me try to fix this."

"She's not here," siad Mary grumpily. Her eyes softened a little. "Go find her. She's gone for a walk out there." She motioned to the large gothic window, showing the forbidden forest.

"I will," vowed Severus. Hebegan his descent down the stairs again, when Mary called him. "Yes?"

"Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid."

A small, ghost of a smile was carved on Severus's lips. "I will."

* * *

She thrashed through the forest. Something was after her. Something big, growling, and vicious. Another piercing howl erupted from a five minute run from her. She inwardly shrieked. She cringed at every '_CRACK_' her foot made when it crunched against the twigs. She wanted to scream for help she knew wasn't there.

* * *

He couldn't find her anywhere. She wasn't anywhere on the borders of the Forbidden Forest. She couldn't of gone in, could she? Severus wondered fearfully. He thought about that time the 'wretched Potter' saved him from a recently identified werewolf. He gulped. He didn't want to look at the sky. A bubble of panic rised in his throat, and Severus felt like getting sick.

He looked up.

A full moon.

Of course, it just had to be, didn't it?

This was definitely karma. Getting back at him for something he was trying to apologize for.

He really had no choice. It wasn't really a hard decision. His relatively short life or Lily's. Obviously, he had to choose the latter.

Without making a plan, or scheming up some diversion, or getting help, he sprinted into the forest. He loved Lily. He couldn't leave her alone.

If only she could understand that.

* * *

She heard it coming, closer and closer...

Louder and louder...

What in Merlin's magic name could it be?

She increased speed. A grindylow? Too slow. Vampire? No way. Hippogriff? Couldn't be, they're friendly. A _werewolf_?

It was the only thing it could be.

The speed, the howls, the agile quietness, it all added up. It had to be from the school, since Dumbledore and Hagrid made sure no really strong threats took shelter in the Forbidden Forest. Lily could guess that it mature, too. Around her age. Its strength proved that much.

Oh God, what if it was James?

No. It wasn't. James wouldn't have had a perfect record of being in school- techinically not always in class, but still in school- if he needed to disappear every few weeks.

She tripped, and cried out in pain. Her ankle was throbbing torturingly. She listened as interested snuffles came from a pebble's throw away. She wobbled up, and limped away as fast as she could.

Today sure wasn't going well.

* * *

Severus heard a scream. Maybe he was too late. Maybe he had come for nothing. Maybe he was just a pessimistic person.

He saw something. Long black fuzzy snout. Crouched like a hump-back. Blazing green eyes.

In a flash it was gone.

This would have pushed a sane person back, straight into the arms of Dumbedore. But Severus couldn't do that. He could imagine his mother's vocie inside his head, _ah, screw that manly pride Severus, use that thing all humans have. You know, a brain?_

It's too late for that, Mrs Snape.

He vaguely remembered the first time Lily and himself had met James Potter and his goons. He remembered how she'd stood up for him. Where was his pride there?

His pace quickened. Lily was in danger. To Azkaban with his pride (and perhaps his life), he was going to help her.

* * *

She was speedily losing energy. The night sky was morphing into a colorless black. Scattered stars graced it.

"_Arooooooooooo, AROOOOOOW!_" Came the deep bark.

She stopped running. That was no werewolf bark. It was a dog's.

She turned around, and pushed some branches out of the way so that she could see. A large black dog was pouncing over and over again at a wolf. A _werewolf_ she noted. The dog's nuzzle was oozing a crimson liquid, and his fur was matted with forest mud and small twigs and leaves.

The dog's frightened eyes went to her, and fear turned to panic. He recognized her, from whatever it may be. A small, ugly rat scurried past her, sqeaking madly at the dog.

The black dog yipped in agony as the werewolf unfroze, and grabbed him up in his jaw and hurled him into a huge gnarled oak tree. The dog didn't move.

The rat made another distressed noise, and scampered over to the dog. In response, a long groan escaped the dog's mouth. Oddly human, Lily thought. The dog glanced up at her and cocked his head to the side, and Lily understood the gesture's meaning. _Run_.

She tried to, but failed. Her ankle was her downfall. She squealed as she fell onto her ankle, the throe keeping her from arising.

The werewolf's head went up, and his glowing green eyes. She knew those eyes. But could she identify them...

* * *

_"Ugh. Those two boys are UNBEARABLE!" Lily said irritably, sliding into her new seat. _

_Severus sneered. "Bloody idiots."_

_"I'm sorry to intrude, but may I ask what happened?" A boy materialized beside the window._

_Severus was about to say a blunt 'no', but Lily spoke first. "Some boys in another compartment were insulting Sev. We decided to leave."_

_The boy looked a bit concerned. "I can go talk to them, if you want?"_

_Severus was about to say another uncaring 'no', but Lily interfered. "That might be nice. Thank you, and give 'em a piece of my mind, will you?"_

_The boy cracked a smile. "OK." He didn't come back. The last Lily saw of him on the train ride was a gleam of two shimmering green eyes._

* * *

_It was after the great feast. The boy had came over to Lily._

_"I'm sorry for losing us house points," he said sadly._

_"It's OK," assured Lily. "It was Potter and Black's fault anyway."_

_"Are you sure? I mean, I helped too."_

_Lily gave him a comforting smile. "It's fine, just try not to be so obvious with your gang's pranks next time. Anyone could see who had done it."_

_"Thank you." The tears dissolved in the green eyes._

* * *

_She was rushing. She shoved past Marlene, calling a quick "I'm sorry, but I can't tarry! I'll be late for Potions!"_

_She skipped three stairs at a time going down the staircase, and dashed through the potions corridor. In her hurry, she crashed straight into someone. The two of them went flying, pieces of paper and books fell like rain. Lily found herself looking at those green eyes again.  
_

_"Oh I'm so sorry," said Lily guiltily._

_The boy grinned. "It's OK." He held up a piece of parchment that had fallen out of one of his books. "I thought I'd lost this," at her confused look he explained, "it's my homework. The essay on Blue Moon essence?"_

_"Oh," drawled Lily. "Good for you then, I suppose."_

_The boy then made to go into the classroom, but he looked back when Lily hollered after him._

_"I've bumped into you loads, but I still don't know your name! I'm Lily, by the way."_

_The boy laughed. "I'm Remus Lupin._"_  
_

* * *

"Remus," she discovered in horror.

* * *

He heard yelps of pain. Was he too late? He stormed through branches and bushes, ignoring the thorns impaling themselves in him.

He pummelled through a rose-bush, staggering at the sight that was before him. A black, furry dog was whimpering on its side. Bloody gashes covered its stomach and nuzzle. Two grey eyes stared wearily at him, and the dog shut his eyes as if Severus wasn't worth the effort.

"Stupid mutt," he said under his breath. A growl came from the bleeding dog.

An excruciating, ear-splitting wail entered his delicate ears. The dog gave a low whine.

Lily.

Severus knew who the black dog was. "Oi, Black. Get off your rump and help me find Lily," he ordered.

The dog, as if only recalling his real self, morphed slowly back into the light-skinned, crazy-haired individual he was on regular days. "I can't," Sirius coughed helplessly. His face wasn't just the regular fair color, it was a ghostly white.

"Why not?" Demanded Severus furiously. he knew why. The wounds across Sirius' chest were severe.

"I would think it was obvious," said the ever sardonic Sirius.

Severus didn't like Sirius. They shared a mutual hatred. But he couldn't just leave him to die.

He pointed his wand to the sky and whispered a spell. A bright yellow light soared up to the moon and exploded into visible flecks of golden sparks.

Sirius looked surprised. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. In the end, he just muttered "thank you".

"You're welcome." Severus replied. He left Sirius in the clearing without another word.

No 'Dumbledore will come'. No 'you'll be fine'. No 'don't worry, it'll be OK'. They didn't need it to understand it. They weren't all too different, Severus and Sirius. They would never know that, though.

* * *

Remus started to approach her with agile ease. He watched her cower, slumping in terror against a tree. He took another snail-paced step forward, and Lily nearly envied his power not to let any sticks crack under his weight.

She remained paralyzed against the oak, shivering slightly. The wolf seemed to almost recognize her, making sniffing noises its his snout. That or he was considering how bad she smelled.

"Help," she said quietly.

Nobody replied.

"Help," she repeated a little louder.

The werewolf bared his teeth in a threatening manner, a yowling sound escaping his fang-thronged mouth. Suddenly, some tulip-colored lights started glimmering in the sky.

Some aid, perhaps.

"_HELP_!" She screeched.

This was too much for the wolf. Remus was already agitated by the odd colorful light blocking his source of power, the moon. His victim making such a terrible, horrified noise was enough to set him off.

And, without any second thoughts, Remus Lupin gave one last angry howl, and hurtled himself towards Lily.

* * *

Severus heard the war-cry. He began sprinting. He fell over his too-big robes on several occasions, but forced himself back onto his feet each time. He was panting. He let out large puffing gasps, and bent over, catching his breath. He had to make it. He had to help Lily.

He broke into a run, leaping over long logs and other forest debree. He didn't stop. He strived onwards, closer and closer to the site where the screams of pain and fear were coming from.

His logical mind told him to go back, get adult help. But for the first time, Severus chose to listen to his heart, and not his head.

The bravery he felt encouraged him to yell out, "I'm coming Lily!"

* * *

Lily didn't hear Severus. She was too busy facing a bloodl-usting beast. It was easy to forget this 'beast' was the kind, quiet Remus she had known for six years. It made her question how much she really knew him.

She could only watch in dread as the creature bounded towards her. She shut her eyes tight. She waited for the paroxysm to be unleashed, and for the horrible pain to hit her.

It never came.

She opened her eyes sluggishly. Lily stared in awe as a mighty brown stag used its antlers her ward of Remus. It made a warning sound. The werewolf wavered on the spot, looking uncertain. The stag certainly was a threat. Werewolves are naturally territorial and usually Remus would fight this intruder, but he felt a twinge of recognition. The stag did not want a battle, and neither did Remus. Somewhat defeated, Remus fell back, and returned onto his four-legs, and began speeding towards the Shrieking Shack.

The stag came over to her, and rubbed its head against her.

Lily wasn't stupid. Those cheeky hazel eyes made her laugh. "Oh, James."

The stag let out a snort. It winked, and gradually turned back into James. "You're welcome." He said.

"You should've told me about Remus," she told him.

He looked down. "You figured it out?"

"It wasn't hard." Lily lied.

He gave her a skeptical smile. "Sure." He reached in and plled her into a hug. "I thought you were a goner." He said. "You are OK?" He asked, pulling back anxiously.

She raised her eye-brows. "Well, I'm not screaming out in pain, am I?" Hhe gave her another look. She sighed, "just a few scratches, see?"

He ruffled her hair in relief. "I'm sorry."

"About last month."

"It's fine. I'm sorry too."

She hugged him again. "Thank you so much."

And neither noticed a pair of hurt black eyes viewing them.

* * *

Severus watched the two. He was too late. His one chance was gone. All his effort was for nothing.

He felt tears prickling in his eyes. He faintly remembered all those times he and Lily would bad-mouth Potter behind his back. He wished he could go back to those days.

Potter had won again. This time, he hadn't even known it.

He looked at the two melancholically. She would never understand.

She would never know how much he loved her.

He'd lost her for good this time.


End file.
